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APOLOGY:
Hi
I shouldn’t have shot off at the mouth.
I am a 57 year old black woman born with thin, mostly unmanagable hair, which, of course, my grandmother straightened to death. At the age of 17, in college, I started wearing a fro, which I wore from 1968 to 1984, long after it stopped being a statement. As I started having my hair permed again, I noticed that I had more bad hair days than good. In 1996, I( started wearing various forms of weaves, including kinky, and I have worn them ever since.
My point is,for me, hair is just a fashion accessory, not a political statement. Life is to short for this to divide us…we have enough real enemies.
MY RESPONSE:
Exactly. I completely understand where you are coming from. My mother is the real veteran in this situation. She will be 50 this year and she has been fighting the natural hair battle for over 25 years… as long as I can remember. (And in essence I was speaking in her defense). Growing up–I quickly understood that hair was not necessarily a political statement for all black women but through my mother’s ministry I have grown to understand that this is an issue that must be addressed within the black community and communities abroad because there is a reason behind everything.
When I see children and young women with no edges due to lack of knowledge about their own hair… suffering from low self esteem it pains me. This low self esteem is then fueled by the various images of beauty that the media casts upon us. My mother was taken to jail in 1995 for braiding hair without a license…. not killing someone… not doing drugs… but braiding hair without a license. Ever since then she has been fighting to get the state laws for natural hair care changed and she finally triumphed last year. They wanted to stipulate an ar tform that was given to her by her Ancestors.
No one taught my mother to braid she was born knowing how and the State tried to make her take a course in chemicals to certify her in braiding. This instance reinstates the fact that even though we have been in this country for 400 years… we don’t make the rules and we are not considered the norm. There are a lot of politics behind hair and I am working on a documentary about it.
I apologize if I came off as brash but I had to defend myself because I hate to see important issues watered down by the fact that “everyone else does it”. If we don’t stand for something we will fall for anything. Peace. Feel free to contact my mother for advice on products to use to stimulate your scalp and such… be well. Isis–214-329-3820. www.naturallyisis.net.
Filed under Crazy Comment Response, Random Rants
Tags: apology, black women, corporate America, Don Imus, Hair Politics, isis brantley, jim crow, kinky hair, media, nappy hair, natural hair, naturallyisis, perms, politics, slavery, weaves
June 24, 2008...5:26 pm
Ms. Haireality Sends her Apology… AND I Duly Accept
APOLOGY:
Hi
I shouldn’t have shot off at the mouth.
I am a 57 year old black woman born with thin, mostly unmanagable hair, which, of course, my grandmother straightened to death. At the age of 17, in college, I started wearing a fro, which I wore from 1968 to 1984, long after it stopped being a statement. As I started having my hair permed again, I noticed that I had more bad hair days than good. In 1996, I( started wearing various forms of weaves, including kinky, and I have worn them ever since.
My point is,for me, hair is just a fashion accessory, not a political statement. Life is to short for this to divide us…we have enough real enemies.
MY RESPONSE:
Exactly. I completely understand where you are coming from. My mother is the real veteran in this situation. She will be 50 this year and she has been fighting the natural hair battle for over 25 years… as long as I can remember. (And in essence I was speaking in her defense). Growing up–I quickly understood that hair was not necessarily a political statement for all black women but through my mother’s ministry I have grown to understand that this is an issue that must be addressed within the black community and communities abroad because there is a reason behind everything.
When I see children and young women with no edges due to lack of knowledge about their own hair… suffering from low self esteem it pains me. This low self esteem is then fueled by the various images of beauty that the media casts upon us. My mother was taken to jail in 1995 for braiding hair without a license…. not killing someone… not doing drugs… but braiding hair without a license. Ever since then she has been fighting to get the state laws for natural hair care changed and she finally triumphed last year. They wanted to stipulate an ar tform that was given to her by her Ancestors.
No one taught my mother to braid she was born knowing how and the State tried to make her take a course in chemicals to certify her in braiding. This instance reinstates the fact that even though we have been in this country for 400 years… we don’t make the rules and we are not considered the norm. There are a lot of politics behind hair and I am working on a documentary about it.
I apologize if I came off as brash but I had to defend myself because I hate to see important issues watered down by the fact that “everyone else does it”. If we don’t stand for something we will fall for anything. Peace. Feel free to contact my mother for advice on products to use to stimulate your scalp and such… be well. Isis–214-329-3820. www.naturallyisis.net.
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Filed under Crazy Comment Response, Random Rants
Tags: apology, black women, corporate America, Don Imus, Hair Politics, isis brantley, jim crow, kinky hair, media, nappy hair, natural hair, naturallyisis, perms, politics, slavery, weaves