That Time Deddeh Howard Went Viral

Deddeh Howard’s website describes her as a “lifestyle, fashion, fitness and travel influencer. Her photo project “Black Mirror” went viral and was featured in the media around the world.” But to many young girls out there she is more than an influencer or media’s quick content. She serves as an example of unrelenting self-love with a determined stance against conditioned beliefs.

In 2016 Deddeh teamed up with photographer Rafael Dickreuter and went viral for creating The Black Mirror Project. The Project featured a series of photographs recreating campaigns that featured white models and replaced them with Deddeh. The project’s dedication to perfectly recreate the campaigns was a success and in more ways than one. The ads use the same or very similar clothing and the same props.

Deddeh explained:

“Not to long ago it happened to me that I would walk into various fashion model agencies and I would immediately be compared to that one or two black model that they had on the roster. Even though I was told by those agencies that I have an amazing look and wish they could represent me, they already have a black model.  Besides having an abundance of white models. It seemed as if one or two black models on the roster are enough to represent us all. When you are told that, trust me, it feels bizarre.”

This way of thinking runs rampant in all of our communities. It’s this idea that makes people believe that one person can make an entire race or group of people “look bad.”

She concluded the post by asserting:

“In conclusion I’m personally fighting for more diversity especially more black race to be seen on billboards, movies, TV commercials, advertisements etc as much as the white race. We need a diverse amount of inspirations for all of us.”

Check out her website.