Black History Month with RCEC: Sirobé Carstafhnur by Grace O’Leary

Students with River City Early College have taken on an extra credit project this month and are sharing their Black History Month inspirations with the community.

The following poem was submitted by RCEC student Grace O’Leary.

Sirobé Carstafhnur

Sirobé Carstafhnur is a beautiful black woman and entrepreneur. She owns her own skincare line and has always wanted to start her own business ever since she was a little girl. Growing up, her inspiration was her grandparents. She watched them have their own business and that inspired her to start her own as well. Though she wasn’t born in Vicksburg, she moved here when she was 3 years of age. Sirobé graduated from Vicksburg high school in 1999 and was an Honor student, graduated 4th in her class and was on the Debate team, Beta Club, and Mu Alpha Theta. She was a dance student at Debra Franco School of Dance (tap, ballet, and jazz) and a piano student of Mrs. Shirley Harris. She loves art and architecture and her favorite style is art deco. Sirobé has seen the Mona Lisa and says it’s quite small, but Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting is huge. Her favorite building in NYC is the Chrysler Building. The pandemic had a big impact on starting her own business because it gave her the opportunity to do so. In New York, all stores had a one-month delay of products which caused her to run out of skincare products and start making her own. Sirobé had many experiences making her own products before when living in Milan and Italy. In Mulan, there weren’t many products for African Americans so she began to make her own. To help others during the pandemic, she shared with others how to make skincare products on social media. Sirobé figured that there were people who were stuck in the same situation. The community responded by paying her to make them instead, and thus SIROBÉ (her business) was born.

The biggest challenge she faced when starting her business was start-up costs. Because she didn’t have investors, she had to use her own money to get started. When it comes to self-care products specifically made for African American skin and hair, big corporations cater to African American communities as an afterthought. Typically, they develop products that only cater to white skin, not thinking about people of other ethnicities. In 2020, the New York Times published an article that highlighted that in the medical training of dermatology, only 10% of illustrations in the textbooks were of darker skin. Even the medical journals featured only 2% of content relevant to African American skin tone. People of darker skin complexion have always struggled to find products that fit their skin. Such as foundation, concealer, and other skincare products. Her skincare formulas are important to the African American community because she developed them with skin of color in mind. With her being an African American woman, not only do her clients trust her products, they trust her as well. They value that she made inclusivity a priority and that her products are tested on various skin colors. When growing up, she had best friends of all skin types and enjoyed learning about their culture. These experiences caused her to develop a love of traveling. She has lived in Milan, Italy, Abu Dubai, UAE (United Arab Emirates), Bagram, and Afghanistan. The place she liked most was Florence, Italy, and loves the desert. Sirobé believes that people, especially today’s generation, should travel as much as possible and learn how other people live. She believes that we should respect each other’s differences and seek to find commonalities. These things are all great for connecting with the people around you and you’d probably be amazed to find out that you have more in common with people who have different backgrounds and cultures than you.

Vicksburg taught Sirobé to be resourceful because it doesn’t have as many options as other places may have. Because it’s a small town, she reached out to the community with questions. Most were willing to help her and answer her questions. It taught her to speak up because you will never receive what you want if you don’t have the courage to ask for it. She lives by the quote, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” – Luke 12:28. We are entitled to nothing. Everything we have is a gift and a blessing; every day on earth is a gift. Sirobé believes in taking and making the time to give back to the community.

About the Author

Grace O’Leary

Grace O’Leary is a 9th-grade student at River City High School. As a Vicksburg Warren School District student, she attended Dana Road Elementary, Vicksburg Intermediate School, Warrenton, Academy of innovation, and is now a proud cougar at River City.

Grace spends most of her time listening to music, designing, and writing in her free time. What drives her to keep going is God and her family.

After graduation in 2026, Grace plans to attend Florida A&M University and major in Interior Design.