There was once a period in time when the African American race, did attempt to love who we
are. The period was known as the “My Black is Beautiful”, it was during this time that women, black women, decided it is time to embrace who we are. It was time to breakout the dashikis and afro-pics. It was during the 1960’s, when this movement first hit America. We had found this new sense of pride for who we are. And we began to see that we were God’s chosen people. It was now time to make a name for ourselves, be seen as the beautiful individuals that we always were.
Although the movement seemed to die off after the disbandment of the Black Panther Party for Self- Defense, some of the supporters of this movement remained in a mood of love for self, but many abandoned the movement out of fear of being condemned and labeled as terrorist. Things within the black community remained quiet and content again. But as I continued to research this subject, I began to notice the Black women were not the only one trying to obtain something or be something are naturally not. White women, really began to try and get their hair curly; I’m not talking about the few whites that did it during the “MY BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL” campaign, I’m referring to how white women had begun to get perms to get those lovely curls that God had already blessed the black community with. I was quite astounded to learn that within the European American community there are multiple instances of subtle jealousy and envy towards blackness displayed by continued action.
As I think back on how many hours, I spent relaxing and flat ironing my hair because of a subconscious notion that no longer has any push in society today, I feel foolish. It was not until the late 90’s and the new millennium when the versatility of our hair became this great mainstream idea. It was now considered to be somewhat okay, with the exception of a few blacks, to be our naturally, beautiful selves. Now that we have entered into 2020s this new “My Black Really is Beautiful” campaign has gained a lot of steam. We are now taking out the time to fully understand how to take care of our hair, our skin, our bodies, and our minds. We have a lot to offer the world, but first we must re-establish that we know ourselves.
Embracing and Loving the Color of our skin and texture of our hair, we have now come to a point that we can fully express “OUR BLACK REALLY IS BEAUTIFUL AND UNIQUE TO US.”
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