After the release of the viral video of the Asian man choking a black young lady at his store. I think we need to start supporting our own beauty supply stores. I've taken the liberty of composing my own list. Please note, that other brick and mortars exist even if they didn't make it on my list. Black Beauty Beauty Supply 4827 North Hopkins Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53209 no. 414-885-2460 Empress Beauty Supply 2286 W Pleasant Run Rd Ste 108 Lancaster, Texas 75146 The owner named Linda, owns two beauty supply stores in Texas Brashae's Raimon's 11902 S. Gressner Rd. Houston, Texas 77701 no. 713-541-2279 Bennett's Beauty Supply & Barber Supply 13820 Westheimer Rd. Houston, Texas 77077 no. 281-752-7520 Shop Beauty Plus 2107 North Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21218 no. 410-685-0955
My Beauty Unlimited 5001 Lavista Rd Tucker, Georgia 30084 no. 770-717-1740 KD Haircare Supply LLC 24453 Sunnymead Blvd. Moreno Valley, Ca 92553 no. 951- 242-0200
Tyra Banks has a bouncing baby boy. Tyra's gestational surrogate gave birth to her son York Banks Asia, Wednesday evening. Tyra took to Instagram to announce the arrival of her long awaited son-- fathered by her boyfriend Erik Asia. "The best present we worked and prayed so hard for is finally here." She also gave us a description of her son telling us, "He's got my fingers and big eyes and his daddy Erik's mouth and chin" Tyra expressed her gratitude for the surrogate who carried her baby. She also offered some kind words for those that struggle with fertility. "As we thank the angel of a woman that carried our miracle baby boy for us, we pray for everyone who struggles to reach this joyous milestone." She ended her message by saying, "York Banks Asia, welcome to this world."
There has been so many articles that have claimed to have started a new trend when in reality they literally stole it off the the bodies of black/African women and men. Black culture is literally being stolen without giving credit, where credits due is due. The fact that the Mark by Mark Jacobs show displayed predominately white models wearing “twisted mini buns” and attributed to Guido Palau, is utterly ridiculous. These are Bantu Knots. He not only stole this from African women but had the nerve to rename it. Jada Pickett, wore this hairstyle in the Matrix and many women of African descent have worn this for thousands of years. He didn’t inspire anything. Another example of cultural robbing is Katy Perry, who was said to have started a new trend by slicking down the edges of her hair which black girls and women started in the 80’s and called it "baby hairs." It’s ironic that we can attribute chopsticks worn in the hair to Asian women and Geisha styled makeup to Japanese women; but suddenly catch cultural amnesia when it comes to box braids, cornrows, afros, dreads, bantu knots and baby hairs. There was also an article that showed a white women with an curly afro which was obviously inspired by the popularization of the natural hair movement, which has inspired white business men to produce products that pertain to black women. The sick part of this is, when black women wear these hairstyles; we lose our jobs, are questioned whether we are racist or pro-black, told it’s ugly, ghetto or Afro-centric. I have recently seen an old interview of Kathleen Cleaver, a former Black Panther and the interviewer asked her why did she wear her hair in an afro. Well, anyone who is black knows our hair grows out of our scalp in an upward position it does not naturally hang down and shrinks up to appear shorter so an afro is simply the result of combing our hair. The fact, that a white man had to question her for wearing her natural hair the way it is shows how we are given a double standard for being ourselves. I saw an screenshot of a black woman two days ago that said I got written up for wearing “ethnic hair”. Her hair was in a low ponytail to the back with an afro puff. The fact she didn’t straighten her hair was wrong? Black women’s hair is fragile and putting heat to it is damaging it can only be applied once a week or less often. We have to maintain straight hair with wrapping it in a dubi and applying a scarf to keep our hair from becoming frizzy as we sleep. Me, personally my hair has a hard time remaining straight for even 20 minutes humidity and a natural tendency to sweat from my scalp makes straight hair impossible to maintain everyday. Black women have been put in a position where we feel forced to straighten our hair with chemicals that damage our hair, weaves which allow us an alternative from damaging our real hair but hides how we look, in order to keep our jobs, just to avoid questions, just to be beautiful. This is an explanation for those who say we mimic white culture we are forced to and when we don’t we are given stares asked if they can touch our hair, told it’s messy or not womanly. If you are white woman ask yourself this how many times did you get told straight hair, was unacceptable and you must wear braids or an afro to be beautiful. For those with curly hair can you honestly say kinky hair is the same as curly which tangles and suffers from brittle ends and breakage? I read that Bo Derek, said hair is just hair. The fact that she saw this style on black women replicated it and is glorified for it while Thandie Newton, who is biracial was not allowed in a school photo for wearing cornrows gives us insight on the prejudice of blackness even in the UK. Even beyond hair I have literally seen white people dress up as black people. Winnie Harlow, a model with vitiligo has been the inspiration for some white girls to paint their skin brown leaving some spots white and wear all types of African braids and hair scarves to look like her. Blackness is not a costume nor is vitiligo. How can black culture be a trend if most black people are looked down upon. Even if Winnie was not socially aware enough to see how wrong this is that doesn’t mean it’s not wrong. I have encountered countless misguided black people say it was okay for their white friends to call them the n-word but that doesn’t make it okay. The fact that blackface has been used until this current day to make blacks look ignorant, caricariture and ugly makes it uncomfortable to be recreated for any reason. And yes, black women have tried it too but black women cannot dress up as black women we are already black and come in many shades. Apart from, this black music is being taken, dare I say. We could argue that culture has been borrowed throughout history but black music has been robbed. The originally sound of Betty Boo, you know, the famous “boop bop bee do” was created by a black woman who performed at night clubs for a long time this was later taken without permission and helped create the cartoon Betty Boo. Little Richard started singing really fast to make it difficult for white singers who took his songs word from word and sang it in a less threatening manner. They never gave credit to Little Richard and took advantage of the fact black music wasn’t played on mainstream radio and thus he would not be recognized as the source. Elvis who is famous for his hip movements stole this from a lesser known black male performer but Elvis took it as well as his style of music and coined it as his own. The same happened with Jerry Lee Lewis, who use to go to black night clubs and took note of black style, slang and music. Black culture has been the source of exploitation where the original source is condemned and the theif is glorified. Now days we have Miley Cyrus who twerks which this term itself is from black culture and she is seen as the orignator. Miley’s new image is heavily borrowed from Hip Hop culture her teeth grill, and chains and sticking her butt out is made more famous than the rappers and black dancers who rocked it before her. Iggy Azalea, who I feel is modern day blackface, she changes her voice to sound urban, uses slang, accentuates her butt and dates black men to solidify her status. Iggy Azalea, is from Australia when she is done performing her voice is not like that she didn’t grow up around any black people she listened to black music imitated it and excelled in the industry. Some described this as cultural smudging. Our culture is smudged until it is no more and a new story is written. So now Elvis is the best dancer, Bo-Derek invented braids and Iggy is the best rapper? Does this sound like cultural blending or robbery? African history itself has been smudged and distorted and now blacks in the diaspora have to deal with decades of robbing our culture. We sue and berate others for taking a song; but say nothing about mocking and exploiting a culture? We left the legal exploitation of slavery to be exploited by the entertainment business. What does that say to black people? We have notable talent and style but it will only be acceptable when it is displayed and exhibited on a white face? Jada Pinkett-Smith proposal to boycott the Oscar caused a lot of positive and negative reactions. Spike Lee shared the same sentiment as Jada in regards to the Oscar's all white Oscar nominations. Lee, referred to the Oscars as the "lillywhite" awards. Lee, said he will not attend the Oscars this year even though he was awarded an honorary Oscar in November. Janet Hubert, the actress known for her role as "Aunt Viv" on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air disagreed with Jada. Janet made a video on Facebook in which she referred to Jada as "Miss Thing" quite a few times. Janet insinuated that Jada only made the video suggesting a boycott because her husband, Will Smith wasn't nominated for his role in Concussion. "I find it ironic that somebody that made her living and has made millions and millions of dollars from the very people that your talking about boycotting just because you didn't get a nomination, just because you didn't win. That's not the way life works, baby" Hubert also stated that Jada and Will were apart of the problem in Hollywood. She further explained that the black community had bigger issues to address than the Oscars. Social media has went crazy with the shade that Janet threw at Jada. Some loved her post and stated she made good points while others have said she is holding a grudge for being replaced on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Taraji P. Henson, 41, won a Golden Globe recently, for her role as Cookie on Empire. While I'm genuinely happy for Taraji, I can't help but question if she was awarded due to her portraying a stereotypical role. When Empire first emerged, many people in the conscious community said that Fox was only showcasing a predominately black cast because they were "stereotypically black." Let's be honest, the storyline for the show fulfills every stereotype possible. It portrays a loud-mouth, angry black woman, who curses too much and has served jail time--due to, her husband's drug dealing past. In addition, the father has a bad relationship with his sons--one of which is a rapper. If that's not cliche enough the educated son is married to a white girl and the father was formerly engaged to a very fair skin woman of color while the mom was in jail. Yup, it pretty much hit the nail.
Taraji, has played other roles that were less stereotypical, but she was never recognized until she played the role of the ghetto-fabulous, leopard wearing Cookie. White America seems to love black women being sassy. A black woman with a slick tongue becomes this other-worldly figure. Black actors are usually recognized for their work when they take roles as hookers, pimps, maids, criminals, drug dealers, slaves or anything that has to do with living in the projects. Octavia Spencer, won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Minny in the film The Help. Minny, was an uneducated maid with an abusive spouse who fussed about people burning her fried chicken. Terrance Howard, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor at the Oscars in 2005, for his leading role in Hustle & Flow. I find this to be so disturbing because he played an abusive pimp, who manipulated women for money and yearned for a rap career. We cannot forget 12 Years A Slave which won an Academy Award for Best Picture and a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture among other awards. This movie helped Lupita Nyong'o win an Academy Award and made her an Hollywood it girl. Don't get me wrong, I like these movies, but it's just something about black actors being seen as subservient or struggling that seems too familiar to how they were viewed in films in the past. It's like we are being mocked in the media and few are able to acknowledge it. It's hard to come to terms with the idea that we are a modern minstrel show. We have to fight, speak improperly or be uneducated to receive recognition. I totally understand that actors need their jobs, but these depictions affect how the rest the world see us. I have met countless white people who imitate me using this sassy voice--even when there wasn't any "sass" in my voice. They acted this way because this was the way they'd seen black people act on television or in films, and therefore. expected me to act the same way. Black actors need to be conscious of what characters they illustrate in the media. I want to be known as black but as a human as well. These roles as maids and criminals rob us of who we are. We become less human. We are more than what these type of roles portray. Many of us, are educated, intelligent, and multidimensional. I want the media to start to demonstrate that so the world can see that as well. Unchose I often hear someone say that they are in love, and months later they are removing pictures off of their Facebook, and Instagram and posting hate messages about the other person. We throw around this topic of love like it’s a fad but it is rarely true love. I do not know exactly what love is. So often I see messed up relationships where the two of them claim to be in love but the relationship is toxic and is only held together by the passions of the flesh. For these reasons, I wonder if love exist. As little girls, we are fed these stories of a "prince charming" adding to our happiness or saving us from some type of pain in our lives; yet when we grow up "prince charming" turns out to be a liar, a manipulator or a cheater. I have seen this occurring in countless relationships. In my opinion, women seem to be the person in the relationship who are madly in love, yet their boyfriends or husbands seem detached or they are cheaters. Which brings me to my second question: "Do men love the same as women?" I see countless men living with wives or girlfriends, but will step out on them without a second thought. Most men even act as if it should be accepted as if he is the only person with hormones. Some men make a joke of having two girls at once. They brag about getting caught and lying to their girlfriends or wives about ending their unfaithful ways only to cheat the next week. We are living in a side chick culture. The word has become well known and used in memes all over social media. Due to, this women start to believe being faithful is pointless. Some women feel you are either going to be faithful and get cheated on or be smart and have your own fun. In addition, we are living in a Y.O.L.O. culture. We cannot find fulfillment in one person. Many men and women are seeking hook-ups to erase the nagging pain of loneliness. While others, want love but cannot get it from their partners, some fall out of love, while others are guarded--too afraid to be hurt again. But despite all of these negative situations. We sometimes find a rare couple who has been together for some time and they are faithful, honest and respectful. Then one is forced to think about it’s existence once more and think to themselves, "Will I find love ? Does love exist?" Photo used under Creative Commons from Neda Andel ~SLooK4U Blog I spent my whole life either feeling alone or being alone. I just saw a video of this Youtuber who is beautiful yet she said she never really had friends but she had a boyfriend in high school. She even admitted she thinks of going places but had no one to go with. I know that story very well the sense you do not belong. The familiar feeling of being trapped in your own lack of social skills, or not being normal enough. I have been a very shy person since elementary. I wanted to be invisible, to avoid being teased. The recess time was stressful because I was just floating amongst different cliques. I always felt like I was tagging along or forcing my presence on others. I always felt tolerated, rather than being wanted--maybe even pitied. It didn’t help when people called me ugly either. This made me struggle with the desperate need to belong and take part in group activities and be a "normal girl" But I wasn’t normal I could never keep my hair neat, couldn’t dress, and was just different from others.
I started getting closer to two people in middle school. I use to hang out with one of them at her house. I eventually introduced these two people and they became friends and I felt left out. I couldn’t dance although I could sing--dancing is it’s own beast. These girls introduced their friends and it was a clique during the summer. But this all ended up becoming a bunch of broken friendships. They hate each other until this day. In high school the other friend I spoke with became distant she had an interest in being noticed by others and being cool. She then moved away and we lost contact. I still had another friend who I spoke with almost everyday by phone but we didn’t hang out. I went through high school floating once more having associates not friends, not like the friends on TV or on movies. I didn’t go to parties or have a boyfriend. I expected to be invisible to guys I didn’t want their attention. I lived the best of my life in a dream fantasy--in thoughts picturing the perfect boyfriend in my head. I pictured how he would look, talk, joke or make me feel special. I would write short stories and poetry and just watch movies--anything that kept me locked in my realm of imagination. I went to college and for a second, I had a clique, but that went awry. I was so lonely in college. I was so miserable and depressed. I would cry in my dorm. Again, I hung with different people but due to having a different major I saw them less. I ate in the dinning hall alone. I barely ate I always felt sick and felt weird eating by myself. I was dating someone it seemed good at first, but this person showed his true colors eventually and was nothing like I thought. I endured so much from this person just so I wouldn’t be completely alone. I couldn’t bare being alone any longer who could sit in a dorm alone no roommate, and no visitors. Yet, I wanted to be alone because I couldn’t relate to those around me. Now that I'm free of a relationship, I've decided to learn another language and use a site to talk with people to practice languages. I have met a lot of people online nice people from Northern Africa and many Spanish speaking countries. My Arabic needs work, but my Spanish is much better, now and I can understand novelas. Most of all, I have learned about other cultures. My 25th birthday pasted recently I didn’t go out. This is when the sting of loneliness hits you. I use my time alone to do constructive things like learn African history, blog or practice my languages. I Iove sharing my thoughts with people on my blog or with my language partners. I would be a liar to say I never feel alone but I have met people online who I have confided in, laughed with and shared my experiences with. They don’t make me feel tolerated, I get more calls from them than from people in America. Men and females alike compliment me and tell me that I’m pretty and funny. Many cannot believe that I don’t have a boyfriend. It’s like we are from two different worlds.They see things in me that people in America never see. I simply learn in my free time. I feel like most Americans never learn so they believe everything blindly. I tend to dig in the making of society and pose questions. I try to look at life in a philosophical manner. I will utilize my extra time to self teach. Bottom line is use your free time being constructive. Zendaya Complex Magazine just named her "Woman of the Year" The starlet is receiving a lot of attention from designers and is being very vocal about her stands on womanhood and race. She loves to switch up her style from an urban look, in which she wears braids and baggy jeans to bold prints like she appears in the photo above. Kelly Rowland Kelly Rowland, has been stealing hearts since she was a member of Destiny's Child. She has since appeared on Empire, playing the role of Lucious Lyon's mom. She is also preparing for her role in the biopic film about the late Dona Summers. I believe she physically embodies Dona and was therefore a great choice. Kerry Washington No one exemplifies class and intelligence like this Scandal star. She never fails to amaze us with her dazzling gowns and time-less hairstyles. The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg pulled a Raven-Symone. She boldly stated:
"You know what this is my country. My mother, my grandmother, my great-grand folks, we busted a## to be here. I'm sorry. I'm an American not an African-American, I'm not a chick American, I'm an American!" She said this after one of her co-host Joy Behar, made a joke about a large amount of people leaving America if Trump gets elected into office. But I feel that no black person should declare that they are just Americans sans the African hyphen. Wait let me explain. Yes, I'm an American, but I'm also black. Being black in America can never be a colorblind situation. I understand what Whoopi Golberg was saying that she shouldn't have to leave America because her family has been here for a long time and endured so much to be here and deserves the same respect of any other American but we don't get the same respect. There is nothing more obvious than being a black person. The whole world sees us as different. We cannot go into a store, a bank or a job interview without our blackness being seen. Or people deciding if we are one of the good blacks. Let's be honest did all of the police who murdered unarmed black men see an American? Did the man who killed a black youth over loud music see an American? No, they saw black people. They don't care how many times we call ourselves American they will still be assigning stereotypes of fried chicken, R&B, rap and over-aggressive behavior. I once sat at a lunch table and a white girl heard another white girl say "She be" and then she replied: "I would expect that from Kiara but not from you" Did this woman see her equal? Was it a table full of people the same as her? Saying that your American is like saying your colorblind. You're ignoring the obvious. Do you hear Chinese people saying, "I'm not Chinese I'm American" No. It's called pride. I don't want to not see myself nor deny that my ancestors came from Africa. If a black American traveled to Italy or Spain they would be mistaken for African. Black people are practicing self-hate when they preach this I'm American stuff. Let's look at American history. Our ancestors came as Africans, were prohibited from practicing their religion or speaking their native tongue and the next generation were taught to look down on Africans and told that they were cannibals. The following generations wanted to fit into American (white) society so bad. They did everything to become American. They joined wars and faced racism in the military. They protested to be near white people in school and in the workplace, which resulted into them being hung or put in jail. Now, we have a half-Kenyan president and he has never received the respect he deserved because he is half-black. So Whoopi and Raven can keep saying they are American until they are blue in the face but the rest of the world says otherwise. Sorry, I know my history and won't allow anyone to trick me into not wanting to be seen for what I am. The problem isn't what we are called but rather how we are treated. |
AuthorMy name is Kiara and writing is the way I express myself. Archives
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