We were lucky to catch up with Annie Bedford Cokley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Annie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on would be “The Beauty Over Bruises, Fashion Hair Affair”. I manifested this organization and event after attending a small community training in or around 2007 at one of our local shelters formerly known as SAFE PLACE, now SAFE ALLIANCE OR SAFE. The training which was attended by an array of other salons, was to educate us on how to respond to clients that are experiencing domestic violence and what signs to look for. SAFE understood that clients look at their stylist as someone they can open up to and with ease. Listening to how domestic abuse impacts our community spoke directly to my heart. It quickly took me to an interaction I had experienced with a co-worker while working at a call center.
On that day my female co-worker whom I’d hardly ever conversed with, had come into work wearing shades. I looked up at her with disbelief more so because up until then, I’d only seen that image on television or a movie. I could only imagine what she was going through, thinking or how she felt, but I knew that I wanted her to feel okay.
Never knowing the right words to say or thing to do in an awkward situation, I simply leaned in to ask if she was okay and offered her an ear. If nothing else at that moment, I understood that she needed strength, encouragement, to feel beautiful and not ashamed. Recanting that memory brought back the feeling of how my soul was fed and heart full, from a simple act of kindness.
In 2013 I was afforded the opportunity to open my own salon business. Being raised by a single mother whom devoted majority of her time giving back to her community and making sure that her children understood the importance of treating others how you want to be treated.

Annie , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Growing up as a young black girl you are forced to wear at least one hairstyle you did not like. As a matter of fact I’m pretty sure we all had that one hairstyle or haircut, mine was the infamous, “Jheri curl”! I despised every second of it. The Jheri curl was one of the main forces that ignited my passion for hair styling. By the time I entered the seventh grade, I started expanding my beauty services beyond myself. I was happy that a few of my family members allowed me to practice on them. My groove really got started when I began meeting up with friends and other girls at school before class. I remember it like it was yesterday… I would go to school with my curling iron, comb, brush, gel and either New Era or Fantasia spritz and post up in the front restroom across the hall from the office at Kealing Jr. High. It was like once I got that first little buzz of happiness from making someone else feel good about how they looked, I was hooked! My passion for hair styling grew as I entered high school. In 1995, I immediately started searching for avenues that would eventually lead me to enroll in a school that offered the Cosmetology program. On November 15th 1995 while attending Lanier High school I received my permit to practice cosmetology. However, the road to becoming a licensed cosmetologist was long and discouraging. None-the-less, finally after 6 attempts at 5 different schools, 2 children and a slew of jobs I hated, on February 2nd 2003 I graduated from Baldwin Beauty school. As I studied for my state exam I had the honor of doing an apprenticeship in a Black owned salon, Jackee’s Center Stage. Being young and full of ambition, it was important to me that I established a diverse clientele to widen the playing field. Once I received my Cosmetology license, I immediately started working that winter at a fortune 500 company named Regis salon in Highland mall. During my career I’ve been very fortunate to have worked in some amazing salons surrounded by both some wonderful people and some not so great. My forever salon family and most memorable work place is at The Hair Clinic. THC was owned by my dear friend Shari Gatewood, co-owned with her sister Olympic Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross on the famous UT’s “DRAG”. Working at THC taught me the importance sisterhood in the workplace and groomed me to be a professional business owner taking pride in how I present myself and craft. My strong customer service background always made it easy for me to build report with my clients, but THC helped me to understand the fundamentals of client retention. Although the salon has been closed for some years we still consider ourselves The Hair Clinic family, staying in touch via our group chat or showing support of each others endeavors. In the mist of those fond memories in 2014, I did manage to open my own hair salon, “Cokley and Co. Hair Salon” which catapulted me into becoming a creative/curator. Being a child of a woman whom gave herself freely for the comfort of others, seemed to be my same calling. I wanted to utilize my platform for a greater purpose as was done in the 50s, 60s and 70s to gather for community meetings, you know a “SAFE SPACE”. Besides starting The Beauty Over Bruises Fashion Hair Affair, I’ve also curated other community events. Taking a look back I’ve curated The Hunt(Easter event in partnership with the COA at Givens Recreation Center), Breast Cancer Awareness Brunch, Splash Day summer event and currently working with adolescents to curate a youth version of the Fashion Hair Affair coming April of 2023 and another Splash day in May 2023. Most people that know me, knows that I am a huge Visionary, there is so much that I want to do! I always say, its a blessing and a curse to be able to visualize so many great things in the mind because my attempts to execute can’t keep up. A few years ago in 2018, I grew bored of my current state of mind, it was as if my passions flame was dimming. Whenever I find myself in that sorta lost space I get anxious, as if it means death and my mind quickly goes into reinvention mode. September 2018, I enrolled back in cosmetology school , but this time as a student educator. In my moments of stillness, I was able to reflect back on some of my childhood dreams of what you wanna be when you grow up and remembered I’d always wanted to be a Teacher! I wasted no time situating my clients at the salon so my schedule was available and immediately got started. I can’t explain the joy that was running through my body as the passion for the industry started to burn bright again. By November I was living life on extreme happiness. I was on the road to becoming a licensed educator, salon business doing numbers, relationship flourishing, a daughter graduating college and I turned the big 40! Shortly after feeling renewed in the space I was in, I became engulfed with devastating news that would change my life forever, as I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer! Yes CANCER! For years prior I had pride myself on being proactive going to the doctors and getting screened, specifically due to experiencing pain and discharge from my right breast. I was so upset and hurt that it took me sometime to process the information before I could gather myself to fight it. As a resilient warrior, I’m gonna always keep pushing and taking those leaps of faith. I stuck to my guns and graduated from Academy of Hair Designs in February 2019, started chemotherapy in May finished in September, had 1 of 4 surgeries in October. A year after becoming a licensed educator I was finishing my radiation treatment February 2020. In March of 2020 when the world was turned upside down by covid, it affected the ways of how we conduct ourselves and business. I went from wanting to be an educator, to owning a small eatery, to public speaking. All in all, I’m such a creative artist and aspiring philanthropists that dreams big and believes I can do anything I put my mind to. I’d like to think of myself as a kind, big hearted, courteous and considerate person which is why I’m so accommodating with my clients. As a hairstylist/business owner I love making others feel good about themselves through beauty enhancements or from a simple conversation in the chair. I offer a wide variety of cosmetology services from a haircut to hair extensions to a diverse clientele, always centrally located with travel options. As an educator I really enjoy grooming the future stylist to be better and go further so they have opportunities advance the industry to the next level. As a creative/curator I wanna always be in motion to bring forth the greater good within mine and surrounding communities, to ensure a more positive and loving society. As a statistic single-teen mom living in the projects, I defined the odds seeing my both of my elder daughters graduate college moving on to successful careers. I have one daughter at home whom is striving towards to same goals pushing to be the best athlete. My children are my biggest motivation they keep me well rounded and are always encouraging me to do what makes me happy. What people don’t know about me is that I have a problem with gratitude. It’s hard for me to accept praise for things I feel you are supposed to do, call me crazy but it makes me feel shamed. I do things for others because it makes me feel good not for likes. Don’t get me wrong I’m always extremely grateful and appreciative of every compliment, its just hard to receive it. I’ve since learned that it is okay to be modest and grateful without feeling dishonored. Understanding that the same pleasure I get from helping and being kind to others, is also needed by the same people. As a person, black, African american, melanated woman I just wanna continue to do good in the world by sharing my story, be a guiding light to those who may feel lost travel the world connecting with new people as I continue to build a legacy.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Society as a whole can change the outcome of an artist future by simply supporting their work. Many artist and creatives alike just need a platform or opportunity to have their work shared. We currently live in a world consumed by social media, which allows for millions to view your work with just a click of a button and most of the time its free. Yet and still creatives have a hard time being recognized for their work. People are quick to stop and stare even commenting at times offering kind words of gesture, but these things although appreciated don’t equate to dollars. Hence the term, ” starving artist”, which is exactly what you get when no one wants to support you via monetary compensation. I view Artist and other creatives the same way I do any entrepreneur or self-employed person. As I am all the previous mentioned, I can say a lot of passion, hard work, long hours, early mornings and sleepless nights go into the things that are leading contributions to all cultures in society. Can you honestly say, that the world would be as big and bold or beautifully colored without the visions hidden within the minds of an Artist or Creative? I’d doubt it! The world would seem like something outta the Twilight Zone, scary stuff, lol. I think we can all agree that the artist and creatives are huge contributors of society. In a world of modern technology, with so many different platforms available for content sharing, the real question is why is there still a struggle, why are we still starving for support? To help assure a thriving ecosystem society can best support local artist or creatives/curators and others alike, by sharing information and work with others, purchasing work, service or a ticket, be a sponsor or make a small donation, any of those would help to further their efforts of contribution. The mind is already trained as an entrepreneur that you can’t depend on or look to your family and or friends to be your number one fans supporting you. Following that mindset will leave you feeling crushed, which can lead to sadness or depression drowning your sorrows in drugs and or alcohol more than joyed. Many artist or creatives are looked at as weird or crazy because of how we choose to express ourselves through creativity and sadly are not appreciated in value or aren’t recognized until after death.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative, is seeing how my visions affect other people. It’s like a cook smiling full of joy watching other people eat a meal they’ve prepared. It really gets me going driving me to want to do more. Another aspect of reward is creating change. A change in mindset, environment, the community and society once you are able to connect with someone in such a way that they feel compelled to reassure you without question of a job well done. That feeling is mostly felt and appreciated when I receive it from my children. The thing about being a teen parent, is that your children get the chance to grow-up with you. My daughters, were fortunate to see me through most of my transitions in life. I was still their mother through every step I took and they for the most part were right by my side. Now that my first two are young adults, we are navigating a new relationship as women. I love that we are able to converse with one another and that they still respect my word, even if they don’t agree. Just as I learned to validate their concerns allowing them to have a voice, teaching them to stand tall, be strong and independent. I can happily say, I’ve defined the odds going from growing up in the projects of east Austin, to becoming a teen parent at 17, to graduating high school and cosmetology school twice with my certification as a cosmetologist and licensed educator. As of now, I have also broken generational curses, seeing two of my children graduate high school and college with degrees without becoming a criminal or enduring teen pregnancy! I can honestly accredit a lot of my success to the freedom of me being a visionary. Using my creative mindset to build avenues and lanes when I didn’t see any. Ironically I’ve instilled that same concept and moral values within my children grooming them towards entrepreneurship understanding their self worth. I don’t look to anyone for a pat on the back or job well done from anyone but them. Trust me when I say if there is one thing that my children are gonna do, it’s brag on their mother! They constantly write post on their social media platforms sharing my work and their gratitude for me. During the holidays, birthdays, hard days or just because they will make a phone call, send a text or a gift, I’m in love with my random cashapps.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.choosebeautyoverbruises.com
• Instagram: beautyoverbruises
• Facebook: beauty over bruises
• Linkedin: Annie La’Trice
• Other: Email [email protected]