So we are back to the hair debate. Since the beginning of time we have been accused of trying to "be white". So we are here again, perm versus natural. This versus that Us versus them. At what point are we as a people going to allow people to be who they want to be without judgement? I have worn a perm in my hair since my freshman year in HS. At that time in the early 90s there were styles I wanted that required processed hair. But as I got older and acquired more responsibilities, I found that FOR ME, a perm was just convenient. I had little kids that required all my attention, a husband that wanted what I didn’t give the kids, a youth ministry that required planning and execution, and not to mention a job. Now who had time to give to maintaining natural hair. At no point did I sit down and say to myself that I hate my blackness so let me get rid of as much of it as I possibly can. Those thoughts never crossed my mind. And honestly it doesn't cross the minds of most black women. We are just looking to make our already busy lives as simple as possible. I am a proud redhead black woman who’s hair happens to turn orange and curly in the summer time. I am not my hair. How I, or any black woman for that matter decides to wear our hair has nothing to do with who we are on the inside We are multi layered creatures who understand that we are so much more than hair. We are mothers we are wives. We are carriers of wisdom. We are prayer warriors. We are disciplinarians and correctors or wrong. We are not our hair. We wear wigs, braids, afros, locs, straight hair, curly hair, colored hair, your hair, her hair; we do what we want and it is based on how we feel that day.
You can’t decide who a woman is based solely on whether she wears her hair straight or natural. There are some women I know personally that are natural through and through and have so much hate in their heart for their fellow man. Meanwhile I have friends that not only have a perm but will wear a weave and have a face beat to the gods but are some of the most authentic people I have ever known. Point is you can’t judge anyone based solely on their hair.
The biggest things that really hurts me as a black woman is when I am judged and looked down upon by other black women for simply choosing to wear my hair straight. Sis, aren’t we judged enough by the rest of the world? Aren’t we being attacked enough by EVERYBODY else? Can we give each other a break? We wake up every day with two strikes against us, we are black and we are women. But we wake up and pull ourselves together and we put our best foot forward with our heads held high knowing we are entering a world that is not build for our success. But we do it and we do it well. The last thing we need is to have such an insignificant thing used to further our suppression. We are strong. We are resilient and we are birthers of greatness. WE ARE NOT OUR HAIR. I support you in whatever you choose to do with your hair. If you want it straight, natural, curly, pink, blue or purple. Its your choice and as long as you’re happy I’m happy for you.
Awesome! “I am not my hair “ 💕💕💕💕