Ohmigoodness, so the comments in that video REALLY made me happy. In the beginning of that vid, I did a quick little summary about what "natural hair" is. I'm going to go in further detail about that one of these days because I seriously believe that education is power.
Most of my life I've had non-Black friends ask me soooo many questions about my hair. In fact, I bet most Black women have experienced it.
Whether you're a Black girl with ponytails, curls, braids, weave, wigs, locs, twists, an afro or a wrap, you've heard....
"How does your hair do that?"
"Did it grow overnight?"
"Why don't you wash it everyday?"
....and maybe once or twice you've had to discourage someone for reaching up and trying to touch your hair.
[Disclaimer] We don't play that. I am all smiles and sprinkles but I sooo don't like when people touch my hair without asking. LOL, fo real though....
So yeah, it took a long time for me to realize that my friends weren't asking these questions because they were trying to be funny or make me feel odd, but because they really DIDN'T know. And it's okay not to know. That's what I was hoping the film would Good Hair would have done but um, noo... Maybe I should do my own documentary about Black hair---its history, criticism, changes and different styles. How cool with that be? And it would not only be an ode to Black hair but it would also educate those who have an general interest in wanting to know more about it.
Hmm....
Anyway, so yeah....some of the comments in this video really made me smile because I got a lot of comments from non-Brown girls who said they learned something from my defining what Black hair was. That has inspired me to want to reach out to more so stay tuned for that in 2010. I think it's amazing that some of my White friends say, "I wish my hair was like yours and could do cool things like that." If only they knew how much I wanted hair like theirs. Long and straight and flow-able and easy and pain-free.
Thank God for acceptance. I say we all just start loving what we have while admiring and appreciating others'.
Rock on!
