Doshon Farad: ((SINGING)) GOOD&BAD HAIR

By Doshon Farad
The other night I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion dealing with complexion and hair texture issues among black folks specifically those of us in the media. The event took place at Temple University in Philadelphia, P.A. and was sponsored by the Temple University Association of Black Journalists.

First I would like to applaud the group’s president. Sister Hanniyah Sharpe, for helping to organize such a powerful program and for accepting my request to be a part of it. It was a discussion that is much needed. When I first saw it being advertised a few days before, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to give my insight concerning this very controversial issue in our community.

First, I believe it is important for our community to engage in empowering discussions. I must ask, however, the same question as one my co-panelists, Temple University Professor Dr. Mike Weaver asked: “Why are we even still having this discussion in 2012?” It’s very sad that despite what strides we’ve made, including having a black president, that black folks are still wrestling with self-hate issues concerning physical and historical identity. And this is particularly hitting black women the worst.

Regardless of how many scholars and historians have proven to black folks and the World that we gave birth to civilization, we still can’t shake the lingering effects of white supremacy and racism that have left us hating our very reflections in the mirror.
One particular sister in the audience who is a Temple University sophomore openly expressed dissatisfaction of her “black” features, mainly her hair. Her testimony sounded all too familiar as we hear black women publicly abhorring their appearances.

The discussion centered on black women being pressured to conform to fit in better with white America by altering their features i.e. hair perming. The “go natural hair” movement was discussed in great detail. The first question that was asked, “What is good and bad hair?” set the tone for the entire conversation.

I didn’t wish to be the first to speak but I just couldn’t resist throwing my little 7 cents (YES 7, NOT 2 CENTS) in by saying that we have to be very careful whose perception we’re using in determining what is “good and bad hair” or “good and bad features”. I continued by saying that we are using the perception of people who said that black people’s features were given to us by God to symbolize our inferiority. This was used for centuries to justify the enslavement and oppression of blacks. This was taught to us for so long that we ended up believing it and you can still see this blatantly being passed down in black families.

I also made very clear that we have to learn how to embrace our blackness in all of its forms by acknowledging that black folks come in all shades and hair textures and that this is one of the most beautiful features of black culture. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful to see a “natural beauty” movement among black folks, specifically black women. But we have to be very careful that we do not use this to demonize each other based on appearance. And we definitely have to make sure that we don’t allow this phenomenon to turn into an “us against them” battle among black folks. This is what Spike Lee was trying to emphasize in “School Daze” in the “Giggibos vs. Wannabes” scene that featured dark complexioned black women and light complexioned black women going at each other singing, “Good and Bad Hair”. By the way, this scene was played before the panel began.

During the panel I said that we have to keep in mind that for some black folks like my mother, “straight hair is their natural hair”. So we shouldn’t be so quick to judge a sister or a brother if we don’t see them rocking an Afro.

You know, I once heard Dr. Cornel West say that black folks practice white supremacy without being in the presence of white people. In other words, how we regard and treat ourselves. In this instance I saw clearly more than ever what Dr. West meant i.e. how we view ourselves and each other based on complexion and hair.

The ones who established white supremacy over five hundred years ago are no longer here however, our community is still suffering from it. As Dr. Michael Eric Dyson said, white supremacy has been set on automatic. This was quite evident in our discussion the other night. It is quite unbelievable how the issue of colorism is still plaguing us, even those of us who are the so-called educated and well to do.

It’s very nauseating to see our community still dealing with the problem of colorism, good and bad hair issues and self-hatred one hundred and forty seven years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Personally, this issue has become quite exhausting; however, it’s a sad reality that we still have to wrestle with.

When President Obama was first elected in 2008 and in this past election I wasn’t jumping up and down celebrating like most of Black America, many of whom were shouting, “We’re free”, “Dr. King’s dream has been fulfilled”, or “It’s the end of racism”, etc. This is because I acknowledged that Pres. Obama’s victory would not change something that was established five hundred years before he was born.

We have to re-examine what impact racism and white supremacy have had, not only on our physical state of being, but also on our very psyche as well. Anytime we still have black folks in the Twenty-first Century fighting and being confused over complexion and hair, I believe some severe psychological evaluation needs to take place within our community and in America in general.