Feature Article
Meet Raylonda McClinton:
CEO and Founder of
Divas Diamonds
(DIAMONDS INSPIRING VIRTUE AND SUCCESS)
Submitted by Raylonda McClinton
lost our scholarships. I was down but wasn’t completely out. I immediately left Detroit after graduation in June of 1992.
I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I enrolled in Western Business College. I was determined to get into school. I graduated in October 1993 with a Diploma for Legal Secretary. I came back to Detroit and started working for several temp services. I went to Preston and Anna Cosmetology school and later graduated under an apprenticeship. I have been in the hair industry for over 30 years.
I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. My grandparents raised me because my mother was only fourteen, and my father was sixteen. I was raised in the church and had a pretty good life up until I turned eleven. That’s when my life took a turn. I lost my grandfather due to lung cancer, and shortly after, we lost our home. My mother got married to my stepfather at the age of seventeen. Once we lost the home, my grandmother and I went to stay with family. I immediately begin to understand how it felt to be homeless. My grandmother moved out of state with her brother, so I continued to stay with my family. Both of my parents were on drugs and were alcoholics. Presently, my mother has since been delivered from drugs, alcohol and nicotine. I was told that I would never amount to anything by family and family friends. I was told that I probably would drop out of school and have a bunch of babies. That motivated me to do the opposite. It was hard to stay focused in school, move to different locations, and stay with different relatives. I participated in a lot of activities to keep my mind positive. I received a Band Scholarship to Grambling State but could not go because our band director had a drug problem, and he never turned in our paperwork. We all