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A few days back we highlighted ItsMyRayeRaye, one of the first black beauty vloggers to hit 1 million subscribers. But we wondered, are there more? As we did more digging we found that there is a small, but influential group of black woman YouTube content creators who have hit the 1 million subscriber mark.
My Life as Eva has 4,867,814 subscribers.
Glozell has 4,047,051 subscribers.
Andrea’s Choice has 3,608,940 subscribers
Samantha Maria has 1,691,400 subscribers.
Teala Dunn has 1,149,859 subscribers.
It’s My Raye Raye has 1,015,792 subscribers.
Hats off to these ladies for a job well done. We can’t wait to add new names to this list.
Made and packaged by hand
Food-grade all natural ingredients
Woman-Owned business
Teela Dunn? Have you actually watched her videos? She is a self-hating BLACK girl who every now and then says she is mixed in order to please her audience. Have you seen her Common White Girl video? She’s not white… Sigh…Let’s do better people. These women might have the subbies but do they promote anything positive? Do they promote working to better their surrounding black communities? What exactly do some of these self-hating negroes promote?
Just like Sammantha Maria,who hangs around with exclusively whites,has a white boyfriend,stated on youtube,she embraces her white side more because she feels its more relatable,down to her food choices,her style and lifestyle choices-there is nothing black about her apart from her estranged Dad,who she doesn’t know.
How does interracial dating make you self-hating? How can style, food choices, and lifestyle choices be “black”?? And are you blaming her for it knowing her dad?
Did you actually read his comment?
That’s not what max is saying, max is saying that Sam relates or identifies with her white half more for the reasons she stated. Dating interracial doesn’t make u self-hating but being self-hating can cause you praise another race more…going off topic…anyway. She grew up like stereotypical “white” person and therefore is more likely to behave in a stereotypical “white” manner
So you have to eat certain foods, date certain people, and make certain lifestyle choices to be black? Oh, we’re back to this shit again. Okay. Well, I guess I’m not black then.
And those awful weaves….
She is not a black girl. She does not have two black parents. Stop it, shes not self hating, she loves herself for who she is, mixed race. She is not a black woman.
Her parents are both black she says she’s black because her grea great grandfather was watch the video German https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sw3Pbik0Vs
These aren’t social justice bloggers though. They’re beauty bloggers. I don’t know of many (any?) beauty bloggers who are known for “working to better their surrounding black communities”
Also, their surrounding community may not be black. Not everyone lives in a predominantly black communities.
Only one “looks” black. The rest are mixed/racially ambiguous. Unless they personally identify as black, don’t claim them.
I don’t understand why we keep trying to claim people as black so badly.
agree
What is looking Black to you??
I don’t “look” black…I’ve been asked if I’m mixed, Hispanic, Hawaiian, etc…but I have black parents and my parents have black parents. But I guess since I don’t look black enough for you than I’m not black.
Stop being salty af
Lol, salty–no. It is not that serious darling.
ItsMyRayeRaye has said multiple times that she isnt mixed of any sort both of her parents and grandparents are black and it kind off annoys her when people think because of her light skin tone she cant be just black, Teala Dunn on the on the other hand has both black parents as well but acknowledges that she’s [allegedly] 50% German…alllll the time you should watch her hair routine video (All about my hair!!)….its….”different” than how i normally see black people do their hair and care for it.
Because white people claimed North Africa?
Lol!
they’re not blacks except glozell and not really interesting
speak the truth
ItsMyRayeRaye is fully black so y’all got to stop ?
Witw is “fully black”?? Lol
Her mother, her father, and her grandparents all are black. Obviously one way or another as we look along our bloodline we’ll find mixtures of different race, but she identifies as being only black.
Fully African American??? The two are not synonomous(black&AA)
No they’re not, hence why I said Black.
This has made me curious about if it’s possible to break the million mark on Youtube with a mostly black viewership. Also, about half of the girls listed here make me wonder if most of their subscribers know they are part black.
All of them arent black and the only black one is so popular because she showcases all black female stereotypes and people eat that up.
Glozell IS black! Teala Dunn IS black !(she does not like the fact that she is but she IS indeed black.Her great grandfather or her great great grandfather was German if that matters(if THAT matters to YOU then I guess most of us are mixed because ofslavery and stuff..AND THAT would makeyou not black) . You seem to have an isuue with mixed people…… To me mixed people are part of the black community since we have a lot of types of blacks:Light skinned,brown skinned,dark skinned,albinos,mixed,….. I hope you get my point you don’t have tobe 100% black to be… Read more »
Colorism.
Why all the hate? ItsMyRayeRaye IS Black!
she is not black she is biracial and there is no hate, we were mislead by the title thinking there would be black women were there was only one.
Both of her parents are black girl, where are you getting this from?
What makes a person black??? Most people in the world are mixed but don’t know it so how can you tell another person what they are based on their blackness you could be as dark as the color black and still be mixed STOP THE STEREOTYPE!
This is a case of quantity vs quality. What exactly are they being highlighted for? Having over a million subscribers or for producing invaluable content? I’ve checked out their videos and in my opinion, I’m not sure if it’s the latter. There are many bloggers, forum contributors, youtubers, even power pinterest users that produce in my opinion some of the most invaluable information out there. Sort of like unsung heroes. Where readers/viewers focus on the information vs being infatuated with the person presenting it along with the bells and whistles that tend to come with it. Now I see why… Read more »
What is wrong with Americans? Some of them may be lighter toned, but they are still not white like most successful bloggers. Do they need to stick a bone through there nose and be the colour of coal?!
Still not black. they are biracial.
Just because of some them are light doesn’t mean that they aren’t black. And Teala Dunn is dum. K thanks.
Wow, all are light-skinned. That tells me my value (I’m dark). But I wish them all well
Not light skinned, there are light skinned black women. These women arent even black.
I was thinking the title of the article would be clear.. I thought I would see different shades of black beauty bloggers, although I enjoy Raye!
Are we here to tear down these successful black women? Is there something out there saying that there is a certain amount of melanin a black person must have to be considered Black? YouTube is a platform like many other businesses especially ones that put people in the limelight where people of color have to fight harder to get to the top. SO please don’t tear down these black women, because there are millions of people out there watching them every week!
You do not need a whole lot of melanin to be black. But you do need TWO black parents. Most of those women don’t fit and therefore don’t count. Simple.
No one is tearing down anyone!
Stating the obvious isn’t tearing them down. That’s a common gripe when someone brings up colorism, and if people think their content is whack, then so be it. It’s not like commenters are praising similar channels created by whites at the expense of these black/mixed-ambiguously black women. Commenters here did not purposely go out looking for these names/channels to drag, the majority of which aren’t even on the radar of BGLH readers and are only being acknowledged now because they were offered up here for discussion. And I don’t even have to look hard to find posts written by BGLH… Read more »
My thought exactly. I found the posts irrevelant. I gave up on trying to create curls from naps and dreadlocked my hair. I’m now happy with my hair. The techniques and products that they feature will not work on all black folks particularly those of us who are not of mixed race. Not hatin. Just being Real! Peace
You and I are on the same page. I am also no longer a loose natural and I am locking or dreadlocking my hair. My hair is curly but being a loose natural is a lot of work for me personally – not speaking for anyone else. Trying to keep up with all of the hair jargon, length checks, hair products, curly for two days, frizzy and matted the next, detangling, pre-poo, DC, stretching twist outs, etc. It just wasn’t for me, anymore. My daughters love their loose natural hair and I love their loose natural hair on them, but… Read more »
I agree!
I am another woman who is now locked for life. I got way too tired of dealing with “THE PROCESS”, which includes 40 minute detangling, 1 hr styling, 10 minute conditioning, and 30 minute wash and deep conditioning. It was too much. All of that just for my thick, long super kinky 4c hair to shrink into a dry, tangled mass before the next dawn. I have sisterlocks now, and I am free.
I don’t think i’ll ever be able to commit to locks but until i shaved my head recently i more or less kept my hair styled in medium sized two strand twists for like .. 5 years lol. (i re-did them every few weeks) i’m in the 4c-z club so i totally get where you’re coming from. it truly doesn’t make sense to have my hair out for long periods of time. and god forbid i actually let it fully shrink.. i’ve been natural pretty much all my life, with the exception of being forced into a perm at 10… Read more »
Why not embrace your naps instead of making curls? My question to you aside, there’s a way to make your curls show out of your kinks. When hair is drenched, app,y gel right away, while pulling and stretching your hair as if you’re still washing it. As if you’re trying to make a ponytail. Keep stretching all over for at least 1-2 minutes with the gel applied. I saw this on a video for wash n goes on particularly kinky, 4c hair. I’ve tried it on my own 4c hair, and it works. I don’t do it every wash, as… Read more »
There are Black women on this list?
Exactly… The only black woman on this list is Glozell… Otherwise the others are either bi-racial or come from a family of mixed lineages… Which is black american.
The only black woman there is glozzell! Lol
ItsMyRayeRaye is fully black
Under what actual rock do you live in? Do you really think that people are “fully” something. I’m “mixed” but because my ancestors – just like yours – were enslaved and in my case were raped by white people. The comment section on this site is becoming more and more prejudiced. No education, no fact,, just black people segregating themselves. Just a reminder that while you’re staying in the 19th century, the world is evolving around you and people are getting more and more mixed. So yeah be proud to be a prejudiced black woman. I’m all for fighting the… Read more »
Are you suggesting that people that are biracial in 2015 are so because of rape during slavery?????
She’s saying that because of our history with the white man many of us vary in skin tone. Some of us may appear to be of mixed heritage but that is largely due to the raping of African women during Slavery.
That’s understandable. But in reference to this article with the obviously biracial women that point is moot. Had the majority of those women been light skinned black women then her point would have validity.
Mixed people are not black. They’re mixed.
Being ethnically or racially “mixed” does not.determine whether or not you are black, your phenotype does…
i agree with you
So Mariah Carey, Derrick Jeter and Rashida Jones are Caucasian right? And where do those that are phenotypically ambiguos fit?
finally someone with some sense. thank you
Unfortunately division amongst us started by the White Man but it seems we haven’t let go of his legacy. We are still not understanding that are our people can be anyone of the 30 something shades of Black and it’s common for families to be made up representing the varying skin tones. And as for mixed people, there are many who suffer discrimination from Whites and the only people they can reach out to are us. but some of us are so cruel we don’t think they deserve to identify with who the hell they want and feel most comfortable… Read more »
We cannot fight colorist by denying one’s blackness, it’s becoming too much of a debate on this website. Everytime a black person achieves something, the reaction is “why do we care, he/ she is not fully black” it’s ridiculous
Congrats to the ladies but the overall article is a joke.
I have been watching AndreasChoice for years! She is very sweet, down to earth and has very practical tips. Not surprised she has so many followers.
The only other one I had heard of was ItsMyRayeRaye. She is awesome as well. And she is a black woman with light skin 🙂
she is biracial.
Itsmyrayeraye says that both of her parents are black. Maybe one of her parents are multiracial but they both identify as black. So how does that make Itsmyrayeraye biracial? Unless you were speaking of AndreasChoice ?
Preach! I love Jackie!
Never heard of ’em. Well except Glozell who is a bad joke. Judging from how many commenters are unfamiliar with these people maybe a lot of their subscribers aren’t black.
Yes! Yes to Patricia Bright!
Wowww. There’s just so much anger here in the comments section. I’m not sure what to make of it, so I won’t conclude on that.
…but I’ll be checking out all of these ladies’ pages because, business-wise, there’s obviously something they’re doing correctly!
Congrats to them. A million+ views is no easy feat, no matter what your heritage is.
I really would’ve liked to see Makeup Doll end up on this page. She is great!
Only one of them are black…..
Clearly don’t know North africa make up
Read who the US Census Bureau considers white:
http://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html
If they are not black then they are not black. There is no such thing as “identifying” its either you are or your not.
In this day an age, when you are white passing or ambiguous in your racial features, there is a such thing as identifying. Many bi-racial people who have more European or Non-black features will choose not to identify as Black. I have met many people who will cringe if you call them Black, even if they have one fully Black parent. In their eyes since they have light skin, light eyes, and loose wavy hair they don’t think of themselves as Black and would never call themselves that. That goes for a lot of people on this list. I’m sure… Read more »
This list is a complete joke.
Since when does being light skin (or having a white boyfriend… whaaattt???) not make you Black? The beautiful thing about Black people is that we come in the full spectrum of color. So what if some of them are biracial? Obama is biracial and every Black person claims him. Colorism is too real and it’s sad that Black people can’t be happy for fellow Black people being successful!
When the actual definition of black mean a dark skinned person…
Not i. Biracials are NOT black. We need to stop claiming them as black
If they choose to identify as black then who are you to say otherwise?
How are they going to identify as black and they are also half white? It’s offensive to call a biracial black. I’m 100% black and I’m NOT biracial it’s not fair to lump them in the same category.
If they have the experience of a black person, who are you to tell them otherwise. Like congrats for being 100% black, but who gave you the power to dictate the criteria of what it means to be black to people who have African descent? Girl bye.
So, what are does your ancestral dna analysis look like?
i don’t what y’all are talking about Teala Dunn does not look racially ambiguous at all…
http://stealherstyle.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/teala-dunn-makeup-2-500×500.jpg
It’s not a small movement, it’s just that it’s something mostly us black women watch.
Aren’t most AAs mixed to some degree? It’s not they all come straight from Africa. A biracial like Obama or Halle would still be treated as black by white people.
White Americans are also mixed to a degree. But they still reject Mariah Carey and Lolo Jones biracial people (that look white). Why is that never factored in?
Good point because it’s something I bring up about the British. They are not all of pure European blood, however they are quick to reject the notion. They have a ugly history of removing the mixed children in places like Australia in order to erase them of their cultural identity and abandon their mixed children in places like the Caribbean since they didn’t see them as their own.
I watch some of these youtubers and most don’t claim to be black….
light skin sells!
Le sigh,I’m sure what I’m going to say is going g to upset a few people, but it is fact!! There is a difference between beimg African American and being black!!! I promise you that if you pick up ANY dictionary( not the internet) Black is defined as a dark skinned person it has nothing to do with being of African descent, it makes no mention of being African descent!!! You can belong to the ethnic group labeled as African American and not be phenotipically black. There are various ethnic groups around the world in which the phenotypes vary!!! It… Read more »
Well there is more than one definition of black. Sure being dark skinned is one definition, but it is not the only definition. Since African American (not everyone like to be called this) and black are interchangeable in the us, I would argue that they are both referring to the same ethnic group(descendants of slaves) not necessarily a skin color. (Even Webster makes reference to this)
Additionally, you don’t have to have dark brown skin to be considered black in society. You can be perceived that way if you darker than the rest of a given population.
African Americans are just that African American and 90% of the African American population carry other ancestry besides African. Now if you are referring to African Americans that come from African (first or second generation) ex: Nigeria, Ghana, etc. they are most likely 100% african and are from africa. which then makes you comment valid. otherwise stop separating a group of people based on their complexion and personality.
That’s why the orginal black American should be a seperate group. No one lumps Asians all together…
Original black American are a group of slaves from various countries in Africa that were brought to American (and other countries.) These slaves were raped by their slave masters (whites, native amerircans, etc.). which leads to the African Americans that you see today. they have various skin complexion, eye color and hair texture. Alot of African Americans are around 65 to 70% African. and the other percentage is native american, european, melanesia, etc. Now your saying mixed people are not black but in reality some of them carry just as much african heritage as the african american whose parents are… Read more »
You cannot put Rachel Dolezal and Obama in the same category. One has African Ancestry the other is European. I agree that Black people are largely ignored in Britain and there are some idiots whose ideal is the light skinned curly hair female, but us not getting the recognition we deserve is down to racist white people not mixed race. They too do not achieve the same success as White people. Remember Floetry? Marsha Ambroise is mixed(I think) the music Industry turned the Duo away claiming that they didn’t know how to market them even though they were highly talented.… Read more »
Yes my point exactly. I wish I could give 1000 thumbs up . That’s what I was telling that idiot in the above comments
So now of they have the same experience as black people they should be called black? Have a seat. Foh
Girl you’re so bitter. It’s one thing to be bitter towards people who oppress you as oppose to your own people. I don’t have the time to drag this petty argument any longer, so please keep it moving with your bitter self. (;
So why did u reply to me to begin with? Yep looks like conversation has ended. Good day!
Urgh…everyone on here is so salty. There is an issue with the fact that the shades of the women who are on the top don’t vary enough, but I don’t think BGLH should be screamed at for just trying to celebrate the few WOC who have actually managed to break the glass ceiling. And as a light-skinned black woman (whose parents are black, and whose parent’s parents are black) I’m getting really sick of both the “you don’t look black so you aren’t black” BS. I dealt with it my whole life. It made me not want to hang out… Read more »
I agree
I agree
[…] Source: bglh-marketplace.com/2015/12/these-are-the-6-black-woman-youtubers-with-over-1-million-subscribers/ […]
[…] went back and checked her references. The first was an article from Black Girl Long Hair written in December of 2015. It did not make the claim that there are only six Female YouTubers […]
[…] the first black beauty vlogger to reach 1 million subscribers. As I reported last year in this post HERE, there are several others. However, as it was pointed out in the comment section of that post, all […]
THERES SOMEONE NEW @Jackie aina
Not to be critical but some of these women listed don’t even identify AS Black. Eva has said that she is Polish/Puerto-Rican and Andrea only calls herself “Mixed-Race” but likes to focus on the fact that she has Swedish and French in her blood. I’m not sure about the others… I’m all for uplifting Black women of all shades but it should be acknowledged (and respected) that not every Multi-raced individual WANTS to claim their blackness. Trying to claim it for them — when, they themselves, will not — is pointless, and basically a slap in the face to other… Read more »
“not every Multi-raced individual WANTS to claim their blackness. Trying to claim it for them — when, they themselves, will not — is pointless, and basically a slap in the face to other Black women.”– Thank you!!!!
I don’t know why in the H. E. L. L BGLH keeps doing this; Claiming people that don’t want to be claimed–Cut that ish out. Stop feigning for these people and leave them alone. It’s just disgusting at this point.
It’s almost 2016 and black Americans are STILL grasping to the 1-drop rule that white people gave you. RayeRaye is mixed at best. It smacks of desperation and a lack of identity to point to other race achievements and compliments etc and try to claim them for our black race. Barack Obama is CLEARLY bi-racial, but has incorrectly been called the first black president by ignorant people. Saying he’s bi-racial doesn’t take away his achievement or lessen black people. Halle Berry took the accolade of first black female Oscar winner. That is also factually incorrect. There are actual black people… Read more »
Okay wait. I am okay with Obama being called black. He has African ancestry thanks to his father. He identifies as black. **He looks black and is thus treated as a black person**. That last point is very important. If you have the lived experience of being black then you are black. Race is a social construct. If a person goes through life experiencing a certain social construct, then that lived experience is too true and real to define as an outsider. If a person like Obama goes through life associating with his black ancestry, identifying as it, and being… Read more »
I was not familiar with any of these people except Glozell so I read the comments and looked a few of them up. I can’t for the life of me see how anyone would describe Teala Dunn as looking racially ambiguous. The child looks black to me. I watched a video someone posted and her parents also look black to me. From the comments it seems Raye also has black parents. She looks black to me too. It could be we have a difference in perception. That’s cool. Many blacks have ancestors who have been in the US for hundreds… Read more »
Congrats to those ladies but personally I’m just waiting for someone like Patricia Bright or Jackie Aina make this list then that will be something to talk about!
thank you. This list is rubbish
That’s wonderful! But no natural hair vloggers with over a million subscribers? Naptural85? If not, shows that going natural is a growing but still small movement.
As a light skinned black person, I have to say that diverse black women are not truly represented on this list. It’s not about jealousy. This is what America is telling us they want to see from our community as far as black women and IT IS insulting. I have never heard of any of these women so I clicked onto their channels and yes they are Eurocentric-looking with the exception of Glozell. There’s nothing wrong with featuring half black and half non-black women or black female vloggers with white boyfriends – nothing at all. However, there is something wrong… Read more »
I’m not sure that they all identify as black? They might, and it doesn’t really matter to this list, but it’s a thought that crossed my mind about Eva, Samantha, and Andrea. I know Samantha and Andrea are biracial, and I think Eva is too.
I really enjoy Shameless Maya! She’s my fav vlogger, been with her since day 1. 🙂 But I love the list, I do watch MyLifeAsEva, Raye, and Andrea’s Choice. Will have to check the others.
African Americans need to stop claiming racially ambiguous mixed people as black. The majority of the individuals on that list don’t even call themselves black…..
How do you know what or who the people on this list identify with?
A mess! Never before have I been inclined to add to the discussion of a BGLH article. Usually, I’m content with sitting on the sidelines, but I am compelled to speak up now. For the first time, I considered unsubscribing to this newsletter because CLEARLY, it is not supporting, promoting, or representing the full spectrum of black hair issues. What I would ask of the writers of BGLH is to be careful that you are painting a complete picture of black hair issues to your readers. If you are going to talk about curly, coily, kinky hair, please make an… Read more »
What about Blacks who arent ashamed for being Black like Teala Dunn who claims to be mixed because her great (great) grandfather was White and even has a White girl tag on her channel and who does not want to bearound black people because they are aggressive,loud,ratchet and other stereotypes what about Black women who embrace their Blackness and are proud of it like:Patricia bright,Razorempress,Naptural85,NaturalNeiicey,ItsHeyMorgan,… There are so many! And guys remember LIGHT does Not equal Mixed and Mixed does not equal Light I mean look at DollFaceBeautyx she is a beautyfull dark skinned women who is MIXED with Asian… Read more »
The hate and vitriol on the thread is real and pathetic af.
When you see Youtubers with a million subscribers, a lot of times it’s because they’re backed my a Multi Channel Network (MCN). For example: MyLifeAsEva is with the FullScreen and AndreasChoice is with Maker Studios. You can check out their info by searching their username in SocialBlade.
I’m starting my own MCN that showcases Black Youtubers called Vloggas.
Damn, I started reading the comments to see if anyone mentioned someone not on the list. Instead I found a bunch of haters saying these gals ain’t “black enough”. Tragic.