Do you remember where you were? Do you remember what you were doing when you found out the King of Pop had passed? People remember when Elvis died, they remember when Lennon was shot, they remember watching a man land on the moon...and today too will be one of those moments that will go down as one that we all will remember.
This is the end of an era. Do they even come as great as Michael anymore? Nobody before or since entertained the world the way Michael did with his tremendous gifts. Even when he went from the King of Pop to the King of craziness, nobody could deny his musical genius.
I remember being 6, and wanting to heal the world, and believing it didn't matter if people were black or white. I remember crying watching a whale jump a stone wall to freedom listening to your lyrics. You were just so cool.
I l♥ve the photo above. And maybe I shouldn't. And I actually know why I probably should be completely outraged by this photo, but I can't help but smile every time I look at it.
I despise stereotypes. I make it my goal to never be a stereotype and always be a surprise in life to the people who come into contact with me. So this photo which falls back on the tired race stereotype of the brown "terrorist" should really just piss me off...but it doesn't.
To be honest, I've never really gotten how some groups of people can see certain acts of people in the Middle East as acts of terrorism and yet in the same beat be so damn blind as to believe that the same acts perpetrated by their own governments are done in the name of freedom.
Don't we all want to be free? Don't we all just want to fight for what is right? I hate propaganda, probably because buying into it means I have to pick a side, which unless it personally involves me is not something I ever like to do.
So I guess you could say my interpretation of the photo is that Princess Jasmine (yea, that's right, this is supposed to be the image of the Disney Princess forced into modern reality) is instead of being the typically helpless damsel in distress as her country is torn apart by war...is taking a stand and fighting against those who wish to rob her country of it's wealth and beauty.
Terribly flawed, I'm sure...but when I hear some of the ignorant things people say about people of the Islamic faith it makes me sick (the other day at work, I had a woman come through my line and say after a man of possibly Indian descent rudely pushed past her without saying excuse me, than tell her to go "excuse herself" after she corrected him, that "isn't it horrible that these people are taking over the world? I pray everyday for our fates." The most embarrassing part was that she was black, and I hate when someone who shares the same pigmentation as myself says something so ignorant when they should know better).
...I'm sorry. I just can't help but l♥ve it (this pic)...as wrong as that may be.
Did you get that? Watch it again, and pay real close attention to what she says at 2:37 into the clip. I believe that it's absolutely wonderful that the fashion world is starting to accept ethnicity, but the fact that it is so blatantly open about its bigotry in this day and age is appalling.
"They really don't take black models, as they told me...."
Sure, I mean at the very least they are being honest, but at the same time its almost seems as if they're only being so honest because they really aren't sorry for their past offenses.
Sometimes I wonder if this embracing of black beauty is simply a trend and will soon fade into none existence (probably in about another 4 to 8 years...) Well at least for now black is beautiful, I just hope that it sticks.
Why Mary, why? I've always had a lot of respect for Mary J. Blige. She just comes off as so damn...real. Her music is the stuff emotion is made of. She has become a legend without having to die or go crazy...which it would seem is damn near impossible. I've always admired her.
So when I heard that she had teamed up with Chris Brown to record a track after the notorious incident, I was damn well nearly shocked into comatose. I mean how could she? She has her own past which she had to overcome, how in the hell could she be a supporter of team Chris the "Monster" Brown?
I've basically dismissed anyone who believes that Chris Brown doesn't deserve everything that's coming to him as either a complete tool, dizzy in the head, or themselves a monster...or all of the above. I mean the dude busted up Rhi-rhi's face so bad she was barely recognizable. Who does that except a monster? I will admit, I have kept my mouth shut about the whole damn thing for the most part because I've actually stopped respecting people over arguments over this damn fiasco. But Mary? Really, Mary? Please oh please tell me this was a momentary slip in judgment and that you will soon come to your senses!
I mean, as a black woman, she should be the last person supporting this loser! It isn't helping our cause, not one bit! Ok, so maybe she is trying to preach a message of forgiveness, or some such nonsense...but the song kind of sucks to begin with, and I think its a horrible message still. "It's ok lil' Sally if your mans done bust up ya face, turn da other cheek and forgive him...so he can bust up da other side..."
I am so glad Rhianna finally came to her senses and left him high and dry. I can only speculate as to what was going through MJB's mind when she agreed to team up with Chris Brown.
I mean, we've all heard the saying "all publicity is good publicity..." maybe she was thinking that this might cause some noise around her which will later translate into dollars...
But again, I find this just as disturbing as the idea that she's simply preaching a message of forgiveness. In fact, I think it's worse. Because now, she is not only supporting a woman beater, but exploiting a situation where a woman got beat down simply in the name of the almighty dollar...
Mary has walked a mile in Rhi-rhi's shoes. she should be offering guidance and support! Smh...Mary must have lost her damn mind...I just don't get it.
So there is hope for blackness in the fashion world...
African Fashion International (AFI), organizers of the Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban Fashion Weeks, is proud to announce ARISE Africa Fashion Week, a showcase of the continent’s leading fashion designers at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, from the 12 to 20 June 2009.
ARISE Africa Fashion Week is five-year sponsorship agreement with ARISE Magazine, the acclaimed magazine of African style and culture. ARISE launched in February 2009 and is produced in the United Kingdom and distributed internationally.
I'm an attention whore. I like doing things that shock the shit out of people. Going natural may very well have been one of these instances where I've simply done something to see how people react. Don't get me wrong, there was way more behind why I decided to go for it, and do the "big cut" but truly I believe it may have simply been I wanted to see if I really had the balls to do something so drastic.
In all honesty, up until recently, I wasn't a fan of the natural sista. I thought naturals were stuck-up bitches that had something to prove (ironic since the same could probably be said about yours truly). I had a dread sista tell me one time I wore weave because I wanted to be white. The nerve of that bitch! But it got me thinking, why exactly did I wear weave in the first place?
And so came the phase of contemplation. Weave was easier! (I proclaimed) Black hair was difficult (I exclaimed) Its a white man's world, and whitey liked it better when you conformed (I told myself). And for awhile, these excuses were enough. But the question still nagged...was I, by wearing weave indeed mimicking whiteness because I hated my own Blackness deep down inside?
The answer was obvious. No. I did, and do not want to be white. Although sometimes I will admit I look at the outlook my white friends have on life, and I think to myself (or sometimes out loud...they're used to me!) it must be damn nice to be so fucking oblivious to like...EVERYTHING. But sill, I would not trade being Black for all the tea in China...so WHY????
Why did I wear weave? This question became unbearable, the excuses seemed shittier and shittier, until one day I concluded that I simply had no clue as to why I felt the need to mimic something I'm not.
So off it all went. Hasta luego hair. Now because I have been chemical free for almost 9 years, I could have just took the fake stuff out...but I had a little hair "mishap" (i.e. the girl who did my braids glued the bitches into my actual hair, and as a result I had chunks of nail glue stuck up in there). Any who, I needed the change anyhow.
It's funny, cause when I asked my usual stylist (not the one who glued up my head) to cut my hair, I could tell she was kind of in shock. It's not the 1st time I've asked her to cut my hair, the first time resulting in her convincing me not to cut it all off, lol... This time however, she had no choice! She kept asking me if I was gonna be wearing a wig while my hair grew.
The thought of wearing a wig makes me queasy. Its like a strike against my pride. which is ironic, because I wore weave...but somehow wigs just...wig me out! I don't feel the need to ever have to wear them. I will strut my bald-headed stuff before I ever even consider going there.
Not to knock those who choose to wear them. I've just seen too many matted up wigs to believe that a wig could ever look better than my natural hair....but whatever.
Actually, that's what it all came down too. Being exposed to one too many bad weaves, wigs, hairpieces, and the whole shebang...braids included. I started to get real scared: what if my weave looked just as bad as all those other nasty contraptions other Black women were putting on their heads? How could I possibly ever know?
So off it went. Sayonara hair. And when it was gone, I felt no remorse. Sure I felt somewhat insecure...but hell, I was glad it was gone. I felt liberated. It was a choice that I never expected anyone to understand, except possibly another Black female. I was in for a surprise.
You see, it was because I was insecure, and fake hair was my security blanket. The first person to see my hair besides my roommates (who had to pretend they liked my new do, cause it be awkward otherwise) was this Latina girl in one of my classes I was meeting up with to study with before exams. The first thing out of her mouth was "wow, it looks so good. Doesn't it feel good to just be natural? I felt the same way. I used to dye my hair until I got tired of it, and just wanted to go back to it being dark."
I was shocked! I couldn't believe she got it! And so many other people, not Black got it too...and I realized quite simply I was not interested in associating with anyone who didn't get it. Because, THIS IS ME. This is the way god made me, take me as I am, or else you can go fuck yourself. Kind of blunt, but why should I feel like I have to change myself to fit in? It just isn't right.
It's amazing what confidence has come from reclaiming my nappiness. A friend made a comment about hoping my children would be born with "good hair" and as I looked at her, with her matted up wig, I thought: I HOPE ONE DAY YOU CAN FREE YOUR MIND. Later that night we went to the club, and the next day she remarked how other females in the club were hatin' over the fact that men were still paying me attention, because apparently I just "got it like that", natural or not.
It's funny, cause at first I don't really think that I believed that I was still beautiful natural. I figured I was somehow maiming my appearance, but I was ok with that because I rather be loved for the real me. I now see that that is completely silly, and that I look better this way. Turns out Black really is beautiful. Go figure.
"We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems."
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