Speaking of Afrocentric elements in webisodes, I thought I would also mention that Comedian and Actor Chris Rock is coming out with a new movie titled: “Good Hair.” Believe it or not, his daughter inspired the movie after she asked him why she doesn’t have good hair.
It’s amazing to see a comedian humorously address the issue of race and heritage in the black community and at the same time, provide some insight to those who might not understand the black woman’s relationship with her hair.
Eversince the enslavement of Africans from their homeland and the instillment of self-hatred in African-Americans, some of the racial and strategic classifications, which were used to divide and subjugate blacks and Africans have lingered.
During slavery, there were lighter-skinned slaves, who comprised Africans from specific tribes in Africa, as well as those who were a product of rape by their masters.
These fair-complexioned slaves, who typically possessed finer and longer hair, were often trusted more than darker-skinned slaves, and they were often put in charge by their masters.
This naturally set up the “fair skin and fine hair is better than dark skin and thick hair” construct, because darker slaves were often abhorred because of their complexion and features.
The dark slave would work outside in the heat for long hours each day as the “field negro,” while the fair slave, who resembled the master worked closer to him as the “house negro.”
Time passed and the black woman was consistently reminded that her natural, God-given, full, thick and curly hair was not beautiful. She was constantly reminded by society, media and the blonde, long-haired, blue-eyed standard of beauty.
Society formulated all types of outlandish, disrespectful and denigrative terms to diminish her hair. Her thick, curled mane became “nappy,” “kinky,” and lots of other names with negative connotations.
Her own beauty became somehow insufficient. She was lacking, and it was the worst type of insufficiency – the type that erodes self-love and confidence.
The level of self-hatred and insecurity this tactic of division imparted unto black women has haunted them for many years.
In a struggle to attain society’s standard of beauty, black women relax, perm, press their hair and put it through a variety of chemically altering processes. And as they stroll down the street, their beauty is validated when another sista walks by and says:
“Girl, she is so pretty! Do you see her good hair? I wish I had hair like that.”
Photo by Jamrock Magazine
Sophisticated African 