Clover Ford
Clover Ford is the Founder of My Chocolate. An organization, which seeks to bring awareness to colorism while encouraging and empowering females with darker skin tones. Colorism is a preconceived bias, discrimination, or prejudice enacted upon by those of the same race or ethnicity based upon skin tone, overwhelmingly targeting people of darker skin tones.
Clover, a dark-skinned female in the African American community, understands the impacts and effects of colorism. During her middle and high school years, Clover experienced bullying and teasing because of her darker skin tone. There was a pivotal moment that had a lasting impact on Clover. Her car was vandalized, spat on, scratched, and spray painted with racial slurs by those of the same community. This event was devastating to Clover. Yet, this occurrence was the turning point that spawned how Clover would respond to what she was experiencing from the community she was a part of. She channeled her anger in a positive manner and chose to no longer be bound by the effects of colorism.
Before starting My Chocolate, Clover worked for corporate America for 21 years as a Mortgage Professional with experience in Auditing. After a successful career helping home buyers achieve the American Dream and assisting companies with identifying internal errors while establishing controls to help remediate these errors, Clover now advocates to bring awareness to colorism through various platforms.
She was emboldened to speak out and bring awareness to this issue. Clover knew that her experiences with colorism were not isolated instances. There were more children, teenagers, and adults battling self-esteem and other issues that seek to diminish their worth and value due to their dark skin tone. Thankfully, Clover's upbringing included being raised in a family where dark skin was celebrated and embraced. Yet, she was also keenly aware that oftentimes those who experience colorism do not have the level of support that is needed to properly cope with and effectively navigate through the harmful effects of colorism.
Through her organization, My Chocolate, Clover has created an impeccably moving short film that forced her to revisit the vulnerability of a once painful ordeal of vandalism and racism, in hopes that one day her short film will reach the big screen. Yet, Clover didn't stop there! She has also created a talk show that cultivates an atmosphere and safe space that allows females of darker skin tones to share their personal experiences with colorism.
To date, her greatest accomplishment is her newly released children's book, "My Chocolate." This children's book was written to showcase the love that Clover had for her dark skin at a young age. It was at that young age that a friend verbalized to Clover that her skin was too dark. Young Clover uses this encounter as an educational opportunity to teach why her skin is so dark and why her skin tone is to be celebrated. She demonstrates and exudes self-confidence as she empowers other children to celebrate the skin, they are in.
Clover will also be featured in SheIs Magazine in 2020. She is a Wife, Mother, Business Professional, and Entrepreneur that is breaking barriers that will soon make history.
