Often some of my elder friends and family who came of age in the 1970's notice that I have embraced my natural hair. They want to reminisce about their time with natural hair when they wore afros and remind me that natural hair is nothing new. I usually ask them, "Why didn't you stay natural?" No one really has given me a straight answer. I call my friends and family of this era the "assimilation generation" because it was their job to go out and seize the opportunities that so many had fought and died for throughout the course of the Civil Rights Movement. They were expected to assimilate into the workforce and experience new found liberties and perpetual opportunities. This is where and when this generation of African-Americans typically had to work twice as hard for half of the pay typically and definitely not make any waves with their appearance. Therefore, they did as much as they could to look more like their white peers and superiors. The challenge is that this generation (and others) embedded their children with a negative subconscious message about natural hair. OUR WORK IT TO CREATE BETTER MESSAGES FOR OUR CHILDREN THROUGH OUR OWN POSITIVE SELF IMAGE AND ACTUALIZATION.
Our work starts at home with our actions and conversations. Have you taken time to ask yourself about your standards of beauty and how those standards may influence and impact your family and peers? We have a lot of work to do.
The Natural Darling
This post is so funny to me because I recently did my BC and the older generation is the generation least understanding of my desire to embrace my true appearance. I, too, have heard this is nothing new and they been there done that in the 70s. The curious me asked the same innocent questions wondering why such an incredible movement and empowering time within our history and culture seemed to be short-lived. I had never received a true explanation other than no longer desiring to be nappy headed and some with humor laughed saying they preferred to look as close to their white counterparts as possible....I didn't laugh.
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