Calling It What It Is: Cultural Appropriation Problems

Photo/Graphic Design Cred: QREV Production

"Love your wild hair look", "It's messy but it looks so cute on you", "You need to tame those tresses"... Reactions to my hair in it's natural state. The comments did not bother me much until the other day scrolling through my timeline I see a video titled, Beautiful Texture. The video is showing a tutorial of how to get the natural hair look for people with straight hair, specifically, white people.

I sat and watched as a white stylist dampen, spray, and wind the model's hair tightly around pins, added more spray, pressed each pin down with a flat iron, and set to dry. The end result was what was described as a "Zig Zag Twist". My side eye intensified as I thought to myself, that's a braid out. You know, when black women braid or twist their hair and pick it out. No chemical manipulations needed.

This lead to me thinking more about cultural appropriation. How many instances in my life I've witnessed or have been subject to white society creating a negative perception of black culture until they adopt it as their own and present is as something trendy. Something they supposedly thought up all on their own (see my It's Not A French Braid post). From our full lips, curvy figure, hairstyles, music and fashion, they all have been re-presented in some way to appease white society.

Some of you may say, "well black society appropriates white culture as well. Take relaxers and straight weaves for example". My answer to that is for generations, it has been beaten into black people (literally in some cases), that their natural beauty, their culture, their sense of identity is not accepted and in order to be viewed as somewhat acceptable, they must conform to the ways of their oppressors. This reality is so deeply rooted that it still affects us as a whole today.

Now we are in a time where slowly our eyes are being opened to the beauty of our culture. Black women are relaxing less and allowing their hair to grow in it's natural state. We are tapping into our roots and exploring head wraps. We are taking over social media with hashtags like #BlackGirlMagic #BlackGirlsRock #MyBlackIsBeautiful. We are researching our history and learning to love ourselves. It seems the more pride we attain and convey, the more our culture is appropriated.

To be clear, I have no issue with white society admiring and participating in black culture. Something so beautiful should be shared. My issue is when our culture is taken and disguised with a white stamp of approval. Just give us our recognition and call it what it is. No reinvention is needed.

Kind Regards

Why The Protests Of Today Are NOT Enough

Photo Courtesy of the women of Rescued Church Boston

So it happened again. I woke up to a slew of social media posts regarding another unarmed black person killed by police. My heart began to race as I tried to remain as calm as possible while watching the video on the train to work. I kept repeating to myself "slow breaths Gess". I remembered my previous reaction to the murder of Philando Castile. How I burst into tears and sobbed in public like he was my own brother. How the white people on the train tried their best not to make eye contact and the black people gave me looks of comfort. I didn't want to lose control the way I did before. 

Now I sat watching this new video. This new video with the same old familiarity. A black man on the side of the road because his car broke down, was confronted and shot by police for looking like a "big bad dude" to them. His name was Terrence Crutcher. The next day another black man was shot in his car while waiting for his son. His name was Keith Lamont Scott. 

I have reached a point where I'm not surprised by these incidents and I expect more of them to occur. The outrage is felt for a few weeks through rally's, protests and news coverage and then it dies down until the next injustice. Picket signs and catchy chants are not making a difference. Yes it brings light to the issue and gets people talking, but not enough movement towards change. What can we do when protesting isn't enough?

I think back to when protesting made a difference. When protests resulted in actual change. What comes to mind the most was the Montgomery bus boycott. To fight the injustice of segregation within public transportation, 40,000 African American bus riders stopped using the service. Instead, they car pooled with one another or walked to get to their destination. This wasn't just a one day thing. This boycott lasted 381 days. Back then, African Americans made up 75% of Montgomery ridership. This boycott resulted in the U.S Supreme Court ruling that any law requiring racially segregated seating on buses violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

A change was made because white society was beginning to become affected economically. No black bus riders meant 75% of revenue was lost until justice prevailed. Imagine if we could do this in today's times? If as a collective every black person made a decision to boycott UNTIL change is made. And I'm not talking picket signs and marches. I'm talking like refusing to purchase anything from white owned companies until a law is put in place that bans shoot to kill so the suspect can have a chance to be tried fairly. If we don't take a united stand and stick to it until we see results, it's very unlikely that these murders will stop. We as a people have been mistreated since we were forced to come to this land. Isn't it time to truly unify?

You may ask, how is it possible to avoid buying from white owned companies? Where will I eat? Where will I purchase groceries? The problem is we rely on and invest so much into white owned companies that we forgot how to survive on our own. This is the time to research black owned business including black owned farms, markets, retail stores, restaurants, banks, etc. Reach out to the closest black owned businesses in your area and assemble to start a plan to support one another. Let's all get on the same page. If we can make a big enough impact economically, we can push for a change. 

Below are a few links that can get you started. Reach out to the black leaders in you neighborhood and begin a movement in your community:

Black Owned Banks List: http://watchtheyard.com/life/black-owned-banks/

Black Owned Restaurants: http://www.idontdoclubs.com/2016/07/08/black-owned-restaurants/

Black Owned Farms: http://preview.blavity.com/black-farmers-to-buy-from/

Black Owned Grocery Stores: https://blackmainstreet.net/black-farmers-and-grocery-stores-to-buy-from/

Black Owned General Directory: https://www.supportblackowned.com/

#BUYBLACKMOVEMENT
#SUPPORTBLACKBUSINESS

Why Wearing A Head Wrap Is Appropriate In ALL Settings

Photo cred: QREV Production

A couple weeks ago I met up with a few close friends for dinner. While enjoying our meal and catching up, one of my friends stated, "I could never go to work in a head wrap." Then my other friend nodded in agreement. I paused in reflection for a moment trying to understand why they feel they can't wear one to work and I can. I work in the corporate world just like they do so what is the difference between them and me? Then it clicked. They FEEL they can't. They THINK it will be viewed as unprofessional. I thought maybe if the significance of this fashion statement were explained, those who have reservations about wearing it in the professional sense would be more confident in doing so.

The head wrap has been apart of African culture for centuries. Over the years it has symbolized spirituality, modesty, prosperity, wealth and social status in African society. In the United States during the era of slavery, though slave masters imposed it on their female slaves as a badge of enslavement, slaves regarded head wraps as a symbol of their true homeland, Africa. A reminder that they do not belong in the land of their captors. It is also functioned as a uniform of rebellion signifying their fight to never forget where they have come from.

Being integrated in society, it is important that we never lose sight of our history. Over time through different psychological strategies, we are being conditioned to simply forget about the plight of our ancestors. They want us to blend in, accept the cards life has dealt us through their hand, and be a good non-threatening black person. Any inkling of black pride or culture association may make them uncomfortable. And because these truths are so deeply rooted, we sometimes say things like, "I could never go to work in a head wrap", though it is apart of our identity.

I take pride in wearing my head wrap and it is a look that is appropriate for any setting. Just because other cultures may not understand the look or the majority in the corporate world are not wearing them, does not mean we have to hide who we are to ease the comfort of our colleagues. Own who you are and where you came from. Acknowledge your history and it's beauty. If we do not make effort to keep some of our culture's traditions alive, our future generations will not have a clear understanding of their identity. So go ahead and wear that wrap!

Food for thought