Tag: natural

Going Natural: When LinkedIn Profiles Turns to Racial Profiling

How do we define professionalism?

Shannon Luders-Manuel's avatar(not) Mixed (up)

As I scrolled through my Facebook feed a few weeks ago, I came across a status update that was upsetting, though sadly not surprising: “That awkward moment when your decision to wear your hair natural comes up in an interview… and not in a complimentary way…”

My friend Sonia had interviewed for a position as a Social Media Specialist for a marketing startup in New York City. The interview took place in the common area of WeWork, a coworking office space where the startup had put down temporary roots. As distracting commotion took place around them, she and the rather cold interviewer had the following exchange.

Interviewer: “Is that how your hair is in your LinkedIn picture?”

Sonia: “…Yea.”

Interviewer: “Not straight?”

Sonia: “Nope.”

Interviewer: “Oh… Interesting…”

He then made qualifying statements, such as, “So you say you’re good at SEO,” and “You claim to be a good writer.” I…

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Writing 101: Assignment #5 – Hook ‘em with a Quote: Natural Revolution

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
― George Orwell

I remember the first year I got my hair loc’d. It was 2009, about three months before Chris Rock’s debut film “Good Hair”. There are moments in your life where people speak and you never forget what they say. When I read Orwell’s quote it reminded me of something I heard in that movie. One of the women interviewed said, “It’s like wearing natural hair is seen as revolutionary”. She didn’t say it as if she agreed, she said it from the perspective of why? Why is Natural Hair seen as being revolutionary? Why do we attribute people with natural hair as being part of some kind of Afrocentric movement? Those are good questions. Especially since I think we all have the common sense to know that every black person with dred loc’s is not necessarily positive or conscious for that matter.

Angela Davis
Angela Davis

To use the word “Revolution” for many black people is to hearken back to the days of black fists, panthers, pride and Afro’s. It is to wear hair that is natural, to welcome skin the color of coal, African garments, medallions, and to be at ease with the urban tongue. The word ceases to mean “to change” but also “to become” or “to transform”. Whenever black people get to a point where they want to embrace the truth concerning themselves one of the first signs of consciousness is natural hair and it stems from many of these movements where African Americans sought to do away with the pretentious manner in which we carried ourselves. Most importantly however, it stems from our welcoming of the truth concerning ourselves and this is why, whether conscious or not, natural hair is often seen as a revolutionary act because natural hair involves embracing the true state of ones hair and thus ones identity.

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Random super cute baby I found on the internet

I should not be placed in the same category with Afrocentricity or Rastafarianism because I use the word “revolution”. At the same time, we cannot throw the baby out with the bath water and in this case the baby is Natural Hair and it is a form of revolution or change. Revolution is change and it is truth and because it, the truth, is so absent in this society the word “change” morphs into something that’s deeper. To change becomes more than to adjust or to amend, but to change becomes a movement and revolution then becomes simply a movement to change. This is why, in my opinion, Natural hair is seen as revolutionary because it is a change in perception and in thought. It is a movement back to the original state not just of a hair style, but of a way of thought and a way of life. My hair is not naturally straight so by wearing locs I am exposing a truth concerning myself; that truth being that I was born with thick and kinky hair.

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I rest on Saturdays so this is my last assignment until Sunday.

In Case You Missed It: This Week’s Assignments:

Assignment #1: Why I Write

Assignment #2: Write a List

Assignment #3: One Word Inspiration

Assignment #4: A Story in a Single Image

Why Natural Hair is Dehydrated

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Photo by Matheus Henrin.

Read Part Two Here: Why Perms Are Afraid of Water

Read Part One Here: Hair and the Nervous System

Natural hair is actually not as dry as it sometimes looks, but the reason it is typically drier than other styles is all in the hair strand.

There are, for the most part, three kinds of hair strands. There may in fact be more, but let us stick to the basics:

Straight – Rounded Shaft
Wavy – Oval shaft, grows in a slanted direction
Curly, Nappy – Flat or oval shaft that grows more on one side than the other creating a curve. It slants backwards folding over in a tight or loose spiral. Don’t be afraid to refer to your hair as Nappy, it just means curly and is not a bad word.

The human body is quite a creation. Everything about it was created to heal and renew. From the digestive system, that is purposed to clean and purify the body of its toxins and waste etc., to sleep, that is purposed to rejuvenate the body, we’re indeed magnificently made. The body actually already has everything it needs within itself to sustain itself, including hair.

Sebum is a naturally oily substance found in hair. It is secreted by the sebaceous glands that lubricate the hair and skin and gives some protection against bacteria. Straight hair appears shinier because it’s easier for the sebum to travel down the hair shaft.

On the other hand, hair in its natural state is curlier, with bends, curves, and slants that make it more difficult for the sebum to make it down the hair shaft. This is especially true in the case of loc’s when the hair is in a knotted-like state. As a result, I tend to apply oil to the ends of my locs more so than the root, which is naturally oilier because of the sebum. Use of shampoos and conditioners that dry out the hair can also contribute to dry hair.

Natural hair is dehydrated because the Sebum has a hard time getting past all that curl, sometimes never actually making it all the way down the hair shaft. Making natural hair often appear drier than it really is.

For dry hair, apply a mixture of Shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or any oil of your choice to the hair and scalp. Africa’s Best Herbal Oil is excellent and inexpensive. You can use it by itself or add it to Shea butter. If your hair accumulates a lot of dandruff or dry flakes, add tea tree oil to your herbal oil for a natural medicated remedy.

This Hair Will Not Apologize

Dread-Locs-and-Sister-Locs-Hairstyles-For-Black-WomenYou can reason all the reasons
Why I embraced the nap
Call it kinky crap like kitchen naps
Cause it no longer snaps, crackles, and pops
There are no more cracking chemicals back there
But Kings fight private battles here
There are wars taking place here
There is strength here
There is healing here
water proof and tied and died and stuck up
This is the only place to be stuck up
To be Israel
To be Egypt
To be Africa
To be Nation
We are nation here
This is covering
There are warriors prepared for battle inside these naps
queens imbedded within the cords of this scalp
the ropes in this scalp
there are ropes here
No more laughing firecrackers to crack open the coils of these bonds
There are bonds here
Long lasting and dedicated bonds here
Battle Axes live here
A bundle of twigs
Not easily broken
this hair will not apologize
so there are no sorry’s here

Rachel Dolezal: A Different View

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I have not yet given an opinion about the Rachel Dolezal story as of yet, though I have been posting about it and following the story like the rest of you. I have heard the testimony of Rachel’s parents and the claims that she has a mental disorder. I have heard people mention that she’s making money off of us, that she needs psychiatric help, that she’s mocking us, and that she’s wearing black face, the list goes on and on. My opinion is unlike those of the black people you’ll run into in the street. I do not hate Rachel Dolezal. I do not despise her. I think not that she’s racist or that she’s crazy. Quite frankly, I like her.

I posted a few days ago a post about how deep this story is, and if the black people out there understood that. I didn’t however, for lack of a better word, edify the post with an explanation and so I thought I’d do that real quick.

061315-national-rachel-dolezal-2Rachel Dolezal, as we are all aware of as of now, is a white woman who has been pretending to be black for some time. She looks physically like an African American and her hair mimics a natural black hairstyle. As a “black” woman, she has been a leader in the attempt to advance the cause of black people, going far as to protest the Exodus movie because she said white people were playing the role of black people (which is true). She has done all of this under the deception that she is not white, but black. Thing is, this does not offend me. It does not offend me that she desires to identify as a so called African American to the extent of wishing she had parents who looked like them, and to the extent of wearing and dressing and fighting for their cause. She wanted to be you more than many of you want to be yourselves. What then is her crime? As a black woman did she commit a crime? Did she degrade herself? Did she jump around like an animal as a black woman or did she become the local leader of the NAACP (can I ask why you’re still calling yourselves colored people? But I digress) and a professor of African Studies at Eastern Washington University?

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How many so called Black people bleach their skin and wear silky blonde weaves? How many of them have crossed the colored line for the chance to be white for the sake of opportunity? How many of us look down on dark skin and kinky hair? How many? So why then are black people emotional because a white woman pretended to be black for a chance to advance the plight of black people? I’m just saying if we’re going to be real about it be all the way real. Don’t tell a white woman she can’t wear a black hair style and excuse Beyonce for wearing a white hair style. Now, she did lie, true. And I must say I do believe she could have done more work as a white woman in the first place. But in the words of Bob Marley:

“Who are you to judge the life I live?
before you start pointing fingers…
make sure you hands are clean!”

There is so much more but let me end with this:

In a comment on whether or not she was African American, Dolezal stated:

“I don’t understand the question.”

Let me explain briefly to you black people why this statement is of such significance to you:

African and American does not define a Nationality. I use it on this blog for clarity but it is not a nation of people. African and American is just two continents put together. It is the continent of Africa and the continent of America. It says nothing to say that you are an African since Africa is a continent with over 50 countries: which of these countries can the African American claim, and which will claim you? The point is that African American does not identify someone’s nationality, their customs and traditions. In fact, prior to 1988, when Jesse Jackson coined the term African American, you were Black. Before you were Black you were Colored. Before you were Colored you were Negroes, and before this you were Niggas. Therefore, I am not offended at her statement because I don’t understand the question either. And I don’t think she’s crazy.

Now, for some laughs, since I after all love to laugh, I’m gonna lighten it up a bit. As of this post I have 478 followers of this blog. I wonder how many I’ll have by morning because of this post :).

Delilah’s Responsibility

Samson-and-Delilah

I wonder if it was a spiritual experience
wonder
if blades covered their eyes against the war to which you had grafted them
wonder
if angels had taken the time to whisper to strands of hair of their coming demise
I wonder if they saw laughter dancing in your eyes
and if they had prepared themselves
with breastplates
and helmets,
and knee pads,
if they held their hands up
wonder if the blade hesitated against the strength of the strands
that rubbed against each other
like
lovers
strands of hair that were intimately entwined
hair that made a covenant with the earth
hair
that had promised to protect him since birth
that clung onto one another
like Samson clung onto you
strands of hair that loved
like Samson loved you.
But I wonder if it was spiritual for you
Did you see them as Kings planted inside the throne of private follicles
and fighting battles there
or was it just
hair?
was it spiritual?
for you?
When you touched it,
did you shake hands with angels,
did truth shoot through your body like electricity,
did your fingers grow numb
Did you feel it?
Did your stomach back flip, turn your tears into rivers
Did your mind leave you
Did it purchase attorney’s to plead mercy on behalf of the war you had begun
the moment you looked into his eyes and said “I love you”
Did the spirit find you guilty of conspiracy
to commit the world’s greatest terrorist attack
or did the Philistines just want their money back
I wonder
if you noticed that at that moment your hands were weapons,
heavy and strong
locked and loaded
weapons of war and your heart were choir directors
and yall played
Oh so softly the music of deception,
you sung ballads on his scalp
And immersed his enemies in your lap
I imagine you had bullets beneath your cuticles
You see, I wonder what your life was like
But most of all,
I wonder about the events that lead up to your iniquity
I wonder
Dearest Delilah… about your responsibility.
Wonder if my brother saw righteousness on top freshly painted nails
I wonder if 7 dread locs are added to your scale
And I pray…
I’m not presented with such a responsibility
I wonder if foresight blessed you with the image of Judas
without his consequence
wonder if his betrayal was your inspiration
to get through this
wonder if you are our warning to learn from the past
so that the present’s truly
a gift.

Remember, When Going Natural…

“It doesn’t have to be dreads. You can wear an Afro, or braids like you used to. There’s a lot you can do with natural hair” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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I was speaking with a sista recently who recently tried the natural challenge. That is, she went out on a limb and got locs. Thing is, she got tired of them and washed them out. While there are tons (I means TONS) of benefits to dred locs, I just want to encourage my natural sista’s in prolonging this journey with a reminder: When going natural, there are other styles you can try. Dred locs is the first thing that we think about because it is the most popular and we are in a time of re-awakening which,  as with every movement, is always occupied by a specific hair style. In the 60’s and 70’s it was the Afro, today it is the locs. But if you aren’t too sure about it, there’s a lot of experimenting you could do. There are tons of YouTube videos with tons of styles on how you can twist and pull and shape your antennae* in the way of your desire. Then, once you are comfortable with your natural hair, you can decide if you want to loc it up, which because it’s a permanent style, provides security in that you will endure the natural journey a little bit longer.

*Antennae: Hair is not just strands coming out of your head, but every body part exists to perform a certain function. Hair does not just protect your skull, but hairs are filled with your DNA and often act as Human Antennas or feelers to the physical and spiritual realm. For instance: All matter (solids, liquids, gasses) is made of particles called atoms. And as we learned in school, atoms are made of sub-atom particles called “electrons”, “protons”, and “neutrons”. These sub-atom’s all have electromagnetic fields. That means they are like “mini-magnets”. Your bones, your blood, your skin and your hair are all made of “mini-magnets”. As for your hair, it plays many important roles for your body. The least known role is that of antenna. Your hair is capable of sending/receiving information to and from your body exactly like a radio antenna. We have a large population of Wasps down here in Louisiana in the summer time. A couple summers ago, I noticed that I could hear Wasps buzzing in my ear as I swapped at it, (I hate the sound of bees and wasps buzzing) but I didn’t see anything. That is until a few minutes later when one was coming across the room. I noticed that the locs on the left side of my head were picking up the sound of the wasps before they got near.

According to Wikipedia:

“Antennae are jointed, at least at the base, and generally extend forward from the head. They are sensory organs, although the exact nature of what they sense and how they sense it is not the same in all groups, nor always clear. Functions may variously include sensing touch, air motion, heat, vibration (sound), and especially olfaction (smell) or gustation (taste).”