Happy Birthday, Marcus Mosiah Garvey

August 17, 1887–The spirit formerly known as Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in Jamaica.  Early in his life, he emigrated to the United States and became one of the greatest black leaders in history.  Through his organization, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Garvey instilled a philosophy which sought to unite all Africans across the globe.  His ideals bore his name, Garveyism, but it is also referred to as Pan-Africanism.

In the documentary, A Great and Mighty Walk, Dr. John Henrik Clarke posited that Marcus Garvey should be re-examined and more thoroughly analyzed.  I couldn’t agree more.   Garvey could be considered a prophet of sorts because much of his philosophical thoughts were seriously ahead of its time.  Some 122 years after his birth, the African Diaspora is still not unified with Africa struggling to regain control and rebuild after centuries of colonialism.  Here in the U.S., truthfully speaking, African Americans are still largely engaged in a ‘catch up’ phenomenon that is being threatened by this current economic turbulence.  To that end, much of what Garvey wanted for Black people has not been fully realized.  Therefore, revisiting his ideals and concepts could perhaps light the way to a new understanding of how we are to proceed as a people in the Obama era.

For the record, Garvey supported the notion of Black women being involved in the movement, having a branch of the UNIA that was specifically designed for women.  I highly recommend locating a copy of the documentary, Look for Me in the Whirlwind, which is an in-depth look at the life and work of Marcus Garvey.  He died in 1940 at the age of 53.

Meanwhile, you may also visit his official website for a host of content related to the legacy of Garvey and Pan-Africanism. The poem featured here is taken from that website.

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The Black Woman by Marcus Garvey

Black queen of beauty, thou hast given color to the world!
Among other women thou art royal and the fairest!
Like the brightest of jewels in the regal diadem,
Shin’st thou, Goddess of Africa, Nature’s purest emblem!
Black men worship at thy virginal shrine of truest love,
Because in thine eyes are virtue’s steady and holy mark,
As we see in no other, clothed in silk or fine linen,
From ancient Venus, the Goddess, to mythical Helen.

When Africa stood at the head of the elder nations,
The Gods used to travel from foreign lands to look at thee:
On couch of costly Eastern materials, all perfumed,
Reclined thee, as in thy path flow’rs were strewn-
sweetest that bloomed.

Thy transcendent marvelous beauty made the whole world mad,
Bringing Solomon to tears as he viewed thy comeliness;
Anthony and the elder Ceasars wept at thy royal feet,
Preferring death than to leave thy presence, their foes to meet.
You, in all ages, have attracted the adoring world,
And caused many a bloody banner to be unfurled:
You have sat upon exalted and lofty eminence,
To see a world fight in your ancient African defense.

Today you have been dethroned, through the weakness of your men,
While, in frenzy, those who of yore craved your smiles and your hand-
Those who were all monsters and could not with love approach you-
Have insulted your pride and now attack your good virtue.

Because of disunion you became mother of the world,
Giving tinge of robust color to five continents,
Making a greater world of millions of colored races,
Whose claim to beauty is reflected through our black faces.

From the handsome Indian to European brunette,
There is a claim for that credit of their sunny beauty
That no one can e’er to take from thee, 0 Queen of all
women who have borne trials and troubles and racial burden.

Once more we shall, in Africa, fight and conquer for you,
Restoring the pearly crown that proud Queen Sheba did wear:
Yea, it may mean blood, it may mean death; but still we shall fight,
Bearing our banners to Vict’ry, men of Afric’s might.

Superior Angels look like you in Heaven above,
For thou art fairest, queen of the seasons, queen of our love:
No condition sball make us ever in life desert thee,
Sweet Goddess of the ever green land and placid blue sea.

February 28, 1927

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall…

“Each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes.  Fervently, for a year she had prayed.  Although somewhat discouraged, she was not without hope.  To have something as wonderful as that happen would take a long, long time.

Thrown, in this way, into the binding conviction that only a miracle could relieve her, she would never know her beauty.  She would see only what there was to see: the eyes of other people.”

—-The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison

“More acutely than ever before Emma Lou began to feel that her luscious black complexion was somewhat of a liability, and that her marked color variation from the other people in her environment was a decided curse.”

“She should have been a boy, then color of skin wouldn’t have mattered so much, for wasn’t her mother always saying that a black boy could get along, but that a black girl would never know anything but sorrow and disappointment?”

—-The Blacker the Berry, Wallace Thurman

“If God has bestowed beauty upon her, it will prove her greatest curse.  That which commands admiration in the white woman only hastens the degradation of the female slave.”

—-Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs

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Brought to you by the world Black literature, these are just a few instances of the ‘otherness’ of Black beauty.  Whether we will admit it or not, this ‘otherness’ has affected us over the course of our lives.  It has taken many of us a long time to accept our figures and faces, especially when we are constantly bombarded with images of women with so-called ‘fairer skins’ and Eurocentric features.  Within our own communities, some of us have struggled to be accepted by family or by men because our looks didn’t fit the bill.

For the sake of healing and continued self-growth, The Perfected Woman Lecture Series will address the issue of Black beauty from both a social and cultural perspective.  You’re invited to join in on this groundbreaking discussion and bring your friends and daughters along too.

For more details, visit The Perfected Woman Lecture Series page.

Chit Chat: The Idle Conversation of Women

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Girl, it’s me, whatchu doing?”

“Reading.”

“Whatchu reading?”

(Pauses briefly)“Uhh, a book on African Philosophy.”

“Really?”

“Really.  (Pauses) I’m reading an essay by Kwame Nkrumah.”

“Who?”

“Kwame Nkrumah,  he was the first Prime Minister of Ghana”

“Oh.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him.”

“Hmmm…I’ll tell you about him one day.”

“Naw, that’s alright.  That doesn’t sound like something I would be interested in.  (Pauses) I was just calling you because me and X are going to the mall and we wanted to see if you wanna come.”

“Nahh.  I’m cool.  I can’t think of anything that I need at the mall right now.”

“Girl, you don’t go to the mall because you need something, you go because you want something.  We’re just looking around anyway.  Macy’s got a killer sale going on right now.”

“I don’t care much for Macy’s clothes.”

“Well, there’s other stores….”

“Girl, I don’t want to go to the mall.  Catch up with me when you two leave, if you don’t eat at the Food Court, maybe we can go and have a bite.”

“Ok, cool.  But don’t try to school us on that Kwame man, ok?”

(Laughs)“Ya’ll need to learn about him”.

“Yeah, but I’m not in college anymore.”

“Oh.  Ok, then.  Talk to you later.”

“Bye, girl.”

(Hangs up).

If I can count how many times I’ve had similar instances with several of my sisterfriends, I could probably earn a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for idle conversations.  Many of my male friends have relayed to me frequently that women love to talk but we do not have anything to say sometimes.  As I think about it, I’m inclined to agree with them.  While women are deemed the Great Communicators,  we do need to check our subjects occassionally for usefulness. 

Somewhere along the course of our womanhood training, we learned that women were to talk about things that were supposedly relevant to us.  Things concerning the home, family, personal appearance, and the like fell into that category of Girl Talk.  We embraced that as proper and appeared to do very little in the way of questioning it.  But, many women stepped outside of that traditional conversational box and spoke against societal ills.  I am covering a few of them with my Cloud of Witnesses series (I’m working on the next entry–should be ready in a few days).  Black women’s clubs of the early 20th century had the appearance of being the typical ’hen meetings’ but instead, these women organized for social causes which required them to move beyond the usual discussion of drapes and recipes.  All of these women were engaging in what I like to call ‘WomanSpeak’.  Now the term WomanSpeak has been used before, but for the purposes of this post, I have decided to incorporate it as the alternative to Girl Talk.  See,  many of us engage in too much Girl Talk and not enough WomanSpeak.   

Girl Talk, in my opinion, is defined as the typical discussion about men, clothes, shoes, hair, furniture, children, and other women; not necessarily in that order.  WomanSpeak is defined as  deep, probing conversations about God, life, love, dreams, purpose, guidance and profound critical thinking about the world outside of your immediate self.   Girl Talk tends to focus on superficiality and materialism, while WomanSpeak adovocates change, both internally and externally. 

Girl Talk allows us to hide from ourselves, creating the illusion that we are emotionally stable, while WomanSpeak ruptures the dam and that emotional tidal wave finds release, followed by the restoration of healing and peace of mind.  Finally, we can have Girl Talk with any woman, but WomanSpeak requires a trusted friendship with other women.     

WomanSpeak has had a comfortable space in my life for quite some time now. I am rather limited in my conversations with other women because at an early age my interest in ‘girlie’ things only went so far. For instance, I’ve been wearing my natural hair since 2004 and I have not missed going to the hair salon in the least.  One of the most agonizing things about being at the hair salon, for me, was the 30-40 minute dryer times and the pointless conversations that I would have with the other women there.   See, I only have about 10 minutes worth of good Girl Talk and then after that, I could care less about Coach bags and shoe sales; but I do want to discuss the long term economic ramifications of the financial bailout and what that means for the Black community.  Please understand that I am, in no way, trying to be condescending about this, but at the same time, it’s important that we upgrade our conversations for the benefit of acknowledging today’s times.  We owe it to ourselves and our families to engage in productive and informed dialogue whenever we can in order to glean from each other and seek out viable strategies to overcome these turbulent times.   

I can guarantee that we can’t develop those strategies in the midst of an exchange about hair color, which reminds me, I’m seeing one too many gray strands in the ‘Fro–looks like I need a touch up. 

 

Cloud of Witnesses: Maggie Lena Walker

In the first installment of the Cloud of Witnesses series, I wanted to, in many instances, introduce some of us to Black women that may have been cast aside on the historical trail.  If they garner any mention, it’s not sufficient as most of these women accomplished feats in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  They deserve a better space to occupy during this new century and with the advent of the World Wide Web and blogging, in particular, I can formally bring you the wondrous achievements of Mrs. Maggie Lena Walker.

Born as the daughter of a washerwoman in 1867, Walker grew up in Richmond, Virginia and graduated from the Colored Normal School in 1883.  As a teacher in the city’s public schools, Walker also took courses in accounting and sales which would later prove to be vital assets in her historical contributions.  She married Armstead Walker and was required to stop teaching but used her skills in the many organizations that catered to the needs of women.

One of Walker’s most instrumental roles was as the Grand Worthy Secretary of the Independent Order of St. Luke,  founded by former slave woman, Mary Prout.  The organization was founded as a women’s sickness and death mutual benefit association; meaning it provided insurance benefits  mainly for former slave women.  In this role, Walker instituted and worked diligently on the order’s ventures: a juvenile department,  an educational fund, a department store, and a weekly newspaper.  Initially in decline prior to Walker, the order grew to 100,000 members in 2,010 councils and circles in twenty eight states.

The order was involved in every capacity necessary to ensure equality for Black Americans, and in particular, Black women.  The order’s endeavors ranged from social, economic, and political levels; complete with a women’s suffrage movement that led to an unprecedented achievement, even today.  During the 1920 elections in Richmond, black women accounted for 80% of eligible black voters.  In turn, blacks organized an independent political party called the Virginia Lily-Black Republican Party; and Walker ran for state superintendent of public instruction under the ticket in 1921.

Maggie Lena Walker is most known for being the first woman bank president. She founded the Penny Savings Bank in 1903 which was dedicated to ensuring that the ’small depositor’ was able to save money.  Many of the bank’s customers were washerwomen, like her mother, and other domestics and laborers–both male and female.  Before her death in 1934, Walker helped with the reorganization of the bank as the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company; and it is the oldest, existing Black owned and operated financial institution in the country.

Walker’s philosophy rested squarely on the need to provide black women with the same opportunities to excel economically as white women, and even men.  Of course, her active public life drew criticism from those within the black community as well as among whites.  However, Walker stood firm on her ideals of enabling Black women to be self-sufficient, whether married or single.  Black women were suffering under conditions that rendered them helpless in caring for their children.  Therefore, they deserved the ability to acquire their own means financially in an effort to better support their families as their husbands were unable, in many cases, to do so alone.

Walker believed that women should have a balance between work and family life and both were necessities in upholding a proper society.  Noted scholar, Elsa Barkley Brown, wrote,

“In her efforts Walker, like the other Saint Luke women, was guided by a clearly understood and shared perspective concerning the relationship of black women to black men, to the black community, and to the larger society.  This was a perspective that acknowledged individual powerlessness in the face of racism and sexism and that argued that black women, because of their condition and status, had a right–indeed, according to Walker, a special duty and incentive–to organize” (p. 620).

Indeed, Walker’s ideals were forward thinking in the nineteenth century and perhaps just as progressive in the 21st century.  Are Black women making a point to organize as once before?  Do we still feel as though we have a need to do so?  Walker believed that black women should be able to support themselves financially without the ‘companion of a man’ and it appears that this same sentiment is revalent some 100 or so years later.  How much have Black women advanced in their struggle?  Does it matter that Black women continue to lag behind their white women counterparts in wage earnings as well as suffer disproportionately from poverty?

It appears that Walker’s work must be extended into the 21st century as Black women, not only in this country,but the world over are continuing to be affected severely by the complexities of race and sex.  I know that when I study foremothers like Walker, I notice a sense of inadequacy as I realize that I am not doing enough.  Their courageous stories charge me to be a better woman in the world—a better sister to my fellow sisters and brothers, a better lover to black men, and better nurturer to black children.

I hope I am not the only one.

Up Next: Anna Julia Cooper

Reference:

Brown, Elsa Barkley (1989) Womanist Consciousness: Maggie Lena Walker and the Independent Order of Saint Luke  Signs (14) 3 pp. 610-633

To My Daughters: Wisdom from the First Mother (Ancestors)

Below is an original Chandra Kamaria piece.  I wrote it from the standpoint of what our foremothers from the past would say to us, their daughters, about love and purpose in life.  I hope you gain some inspiration from these words and cherish them as you move from day to day in your journey.

Drowning out your pain in shades of ill-conceived confidence, dressed in decadence with luring eyes….finding the manipulative avenues to dig deep inside the man of choice, intending on squeezing your revenge from his heart…

But, he wasn’t the one that hurt you though.  That one is long gone, continuing to tread the path of his demise. Holding the next accountable for the last is not wise, little girl. That’s suffering minus the purpose…struggle minus the objective…effort minus the accomplishment which all equals bondage, not deliverance…

To my daughters, you must come to the understanding that rain falls on the just and unjust.  Can’t exact rage on the unexpected, as you then aid in the destruction of love…which is, may I remind you, the one potion that all must drink to sustain the issues of life pouring forth through divine contract

You cannot keep your beauty hidden from them we are made for; simply because it didn’t add up to what you figure.  Your analysis of the ‘what he did’ and the ‘woulda coulda shouldas’ pales in comparison to the grand scheme of things.  Oh yes, it was supposed to be the love of a lifetime not the master disaster; ruining your view.  It was to be something so much bigger.

But, not really.  Silly woman, it just boils down to the fact that you did all the right things for the wrong one.  And while you gloat and mope about the disappointment, there is a victory in this that you have missed.  It wasn’t all about keeping him in the first place; it was about the fact that you took the risk…

Now it’s easier.  Instead of stiffening up to the point where you won’t bend, just make a better choice and get ready to do it again.  ‘Cause we’re made out of the stuff we give—that’s why it comes naturally. We are the world’s first gift for lonliness, the solution to many a man’s problems.  Even if he didn’t have a dime, when we make our offering, he then becomes wealthy…

To my daughters, don’t withhold your essence.  You have no say so in the matter.  It is your destiny to bless.  How will they know if you do not show them the glow of love?  How it sparkles, more precious than any jewel attained.  Love made you, love is you.  Love is what you do. We have mastered it—therefore, do not forsake your responsibility to reach and teach.  If them we are made for are unable to define it, then they will continue to walk blinded…

So, as I prepare to step back into eternity, I leave thee with this… Live to bless.  Live to love.  Live.  Do not withhold your essence.  Indeed, it will be a fight, but if you want to see me again, you must wash your robe in the issues of life.  I wait for you in eternity.  My daughters, again I say, live.

The War of Images Wages On: Part I—’Tude

Have any of you heard about crisis public relations? Crisis public relations is used whenever a company undergoes some kind of circumstance that results in negative publicity. The point is to ensure that the company’s reputation and image is saved among the buying public. If the troubled company does not make an effort to execute a well organized public relations campaign, the end result is a loss of profits. What’s with the analogy? I’m glad you asked that question. Let’s look at the totality of African American women as a company. The Perfected Woman Enrichment Program can be regarded as the official public relations agency for African American women. Got it? Good.

Now, for the situation.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta Cast

On last week, Bravo aired another installment of their ‘Real Housewives’ reality series. This time, they are featuring ‘housewives’ in the ‘Black Mecca’ known as Atlanta. Considering that the city boasts of more African American millionaires than most metropolitan areas, the series largely focuses on four African American women and one White woman. Three of the African American wives are involved with professional athletes; one is married to Cleveland Cavaliers’ Eric Snow, one is married to Ed Hartwell of the Atlanta Falcons and the other one is actually divorcing Bob Whitfield, an NFL player.

There’s one whose married to an ultra rich real estate investor; but she has about as much class as a cricket. Her nickname says it all, NeNe. Lastly, the one and only White woman on the show is involved with a man who wants to remain a secret, so she refers to him as ‘Big Papa’. Oh, by the way, she is a self-prescribed ‘Black woman in a White woman’s body’.

DeShaun Snow, her husband Eric, and their three sons have just moved into a 15,000 sq. ft home in a gated community. According to her, she’s always known, even as a little girl, that she was going to be ’somebody’. But after one show, we haven’t seen her do too much other than state that she’s conducting interviews for her house staff, which will be complete with an estate manager, governess, and nanny. Oh yes, she explained the purpose of the estate manager; this person acts as ‘her’ and handles all of the problems of dealing with the house staff so that she won’t have to deal with the ‘other people’.

The former wife of Bob Whitfield, Sheree, is seeking a lump sum in her divorce settlement in the sum of seven figures. Let’s see, on the series premiere, she was throwing herself a birthday party at her home, complete with valet parking and over 100 pretentious, upper echelon guests. Prior to that, she goes shopping for her party and spends over $6,000 dollars on attire, including a $3,200 bag that she supposedly owns exclusively.

So does this show sound like another battle that Black women must fight in this seemingly never-ending war of images? You bet it is. Do I, and other African American women bloggers, need to run some damage control. Indeed.

Well, here it is. In the midst of history, scores of African American women have defied the odds and accomplished tremendous feats. In addition, they have given voice to the perils of living in a country that denied a people the notion of humanity. The list is too long to name all of them, but let’s just say that Black women have come a tremendously long way.  Apparently, we have even further to go.  This show, as well as ‘Flavor of Love’ and ‘I Love NY‘ proves it.

Sapphire from Amos & Andy

For those of you who are unaware, there is a haunting stereotype that follows African American women. The image of Sapphire, brought to life by the popular radio and television series Amos and Andy, seems to still linger as the typical demeanor of a Black woman. Minister Terri McFaddin-Solomon sums it up in her book, Sapphires and other Precious Jewels:

“And without a doubt sapphire is a fitting metaphor to describe the beauty and value of women of African ancestry…but sapphire also bears a negative connotation. The stereotypical image of a loud, ill-tempered Black woman who has a love-hate relationship with men looms in stark contrast to the beauty and brilliance of the gemstone.”

Interestingly enough, the idea of success to these women as well as to the show’s producers rest on their ability to marry well, in particular, a ballplayer.  Supposedly, the show will begin to offer some insight into the women’s respective ventures.  Most of them are looking to expose some charitable foundation that they have founded but you can believe that the main emphasis will be on drama.  In actuality, the series undermines women in general, but when it focuses on Black women, we have to hold our breaths to make sure it will do us some justice.

Well, for the Real Housewives of Atlanta, it doesn’t.  While these women are individually beautiful and brilliant like a Sapphire and they are even able to afford real sapphires, the attitude or ‘tudes that have become the standard characterization of Black women is alive and well.  It’s either being reflected in the snotty, condescending demeanors of DeShawn and Sheree or it is exemplified as outright ghetto like NeNe.  Either way, it’s a mainstream television show where millions will be able to tune in and actually believe that they are getting a real glimpse at Black women with money.  Unfortunately, the perception will be the same.

“You can dress them up, but…..“

Now, I know many will say that the show is for entertainment, but let’s dig deeper.  Unless you have been existing in a vacuum, then you will know that African Americans have been the brunt of some of the cruelest jokes and image distorting realities throughout history.  Speeding ahead into the 21st century, how much longer are we to tolerate it?  For a fact, Atlanta (as well as the rest of the country) boasts of some sisters that are putting it down, making money through their own efforts and managing families with sound morals and values.  Best of all, a lot of those women are drama-free, but I guess that won’t make good prime time television, will it?

You know, I’m not done with this.  But I will stop here and reload my ammunition because the war wages on.  Meanwhile, peep the madness on an episode of MadTV, featuring Mexican American comedienne and actress Anjelah Johnson as ‘Bon Qui Qui’.

The Reason Why A Sista’s ‘Change is Strange’

Diversity Inc. published an article on their website of significant interest to me.  It was about the spending habits of Black women.  Apparently, many of us are not aware of this country’s economic plight…but at the same time, perhaps we are aware, but simply don’t care.  Black women are regarded as the emotional, impulsive shoppers. We buy to make ourselves feel better.  Considering that the Black community is primarily girded through the strength of Black women, this is a critical issue.  At what point are we going to make our dollars work for us by bulking them up with interest bearing accounts?  Yes, you can live without those shoes that’s on sale for 40% off at Macy’s.  Trust me.  All you have to do is wear some of the 250 pairs you have stashed in your closet.  I know it’s difficult; it’s almost as if they are calling your name.  But let me add this: it’s better to wear twice-worn shoes and have a place to lay your head than to be cute…and homeless.

At least, that’s the rationale I use.  See, I figure if I make a point to prioritize something, like, uhhh, my mortgage payment, I won’t have to worry about bringing home bags of stuff that really could have stayed at the store. Thankfully, I am getting better about denying impulsive buys and forcing myself to turn the stove on and actually cook instead of ordering my favorite Chicken Teriyaki dinner every other night.  Weekend nights find me at home glued to the television or reading a book rather than dining out and having drinks.

The article specifically stated that our saving habits lag behind other women.  At the same time, we’re using a lot of plastic for these purchases; that’s a dead end street.  This presents a tremendous opportunity to design specific money management initiatives for Black women. These initiatives can take into account our upbringing and our training, or lack of, when it comes to money matters.  See, at one point in time, Black women were unable to afford anything…but now that we have more education and make more money than our foremothers, we seem to think that grants us a license to be spend-a-holics. However, simply put, we cannot afford to continue to buy things that we can’t afford.  We’ve made giant strides in progress, but let’s not undo it with our extravagance.

Let me tell you why: this economy continues to bleed due to the wounded mortgage industry and this $9 billion a month tab it’s carrying for the Iraq occupation.  Let’s not forget that natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike have also tapped into the US coffers…and those gas prices, don’t get me started.  We have children that are depending on us to leave something behind for them other than debt and hardships.  Let’s start taking the necessary steps towards controlling our finances better.

As a Perfected Woman, your responsibility now lies in gaining knowledge.  There are financial advisors waiting to hear from you.  Give them a call and set an appointment for a budgeting consultation.  Meanwhile, find some things that you can do without, while continuing to enjoy a quality lifestyle.

My Black is Beautiful

My Black is Beautiful, indeed.    

But, at one point in my life, I did not think so and it had nothing to do with my self-esteem so much as it had to do with images.  See, I grew up surrounded by women with varying complexions of brown and facial features that were in stark contrast to thin lips, narrow noses, and blue eyes.  Hips were wide and well-defined; heights ranged from 5ft to 6ft, and waistlines varied between curvy to floppy, but all of them had a special kind of style. This style was given to me; a self-assurance that did not allow me to think of myself as ugly or too fat.  But, at the same time, the magazine covers, television screens and even the books I was reading were sending another message, and I was left with the understanding that I was different.

Growing up as little ‘colored’ girls in America, we become accustomed to the status quo and early on in life, it is easy to notice that our kind is actually in the ‘Other’ category.  So, digesting images of blonde haired, blue-eyed, bone thin White women were simple; as a matter of fact, it became second nature.  Granted, images in brown were on the scene as well and while we were to rejoice at the fact that those beautiful Black women were smiling back at us, even they had a standardized look.  Generally, they had skin complexions that were comfortable for the jaded eyes of the mainstream; their hair was wavy, relaxed and straight, and their facial features were similar to their White girl counterparts.  Still, Media America sent a reverberating message that even for blackness, there’s an accepted and unaccepted look. Either you had it or you didn’t.  A lot us didn’t and we suffered for it.  I have had friends of mine discuss their dark skin complexions and being the subject of name-calling such as Tar Baby and Blackie.  Let’s not mention the countless accounts of quips pointed at fat and skinny sistas (yes, skinny women get picked on too). 

But thanks to Proctor and Gamble, the healing can begin.  

The company has spearheaded a new movement called My Black is Beautiful (http://www.myblackisbeautiful).  This initiave is allowing African American women the space that they need to come to terms with their own insecurities about their beauty and to discover what really makes us individually beautiful.  Now, why is this important? Of course, there’s the obvious reasons.  History has not been kind to the unique looks of African American women.  Beauty standards have and apparently still harbor on Eurocentric features.  But most importantly, this project is critical to counter the insecurities about our looks that we have gotten from members of our very own communities and families.  

But, unlike our foremothers, we are armed with the knowledge of God in such a way that we do not need societal or familial labels to determine us.  Psalm 139:14 records that we are to praise God because we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’.  The marvelous works of God mentioned in this Scripture is more than the hills and mountains, the sun, moon, and the stars but it is also His creation—mankind.  You are a marvelous work.  I am a marvelous work; short waist, flat feet, and all.  See, we have been in error all along by allowing others to dictate flyness to us.  One group of individuals does not have a monopoly on beauty as it is in the eyes of the beholder.  However, the first eyes to behold our beauty should be our own. 

My Black is Beautiful is more than the pretentious clean up that we do to our exterior—fine clothes and fly hairstyles do nothing for the interior.  Some of us are perhaps working very hard to look real good on the outside, because on the inside, we really do not think that much of ourselves at all.  With its accompanying group discussion brochure, it will urge you to greatly think about your inner strengths and perhaps uncover your inner demons; those things that keep you from being the best you.  I’ve started mine and it has been an eye-opening experience.   

I appreciate Proctor and Gamble for reaching out to us in this manner.   Taking into consideration that I am a culture and media maven, this campaign speaks volumes to me because it forces us to do something that I feel Black women are scant at doing—think about themselves and how we fit into the grand scheme of things.  Thanks to this initiative, I can boldly proclaim that.

My Black is Beautiful because it is creative, cutting-edge, intelligent, and sensuous.  Indeed.

Why is your Black beautiful?

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