BBC WORLD NEWS REPORT ON NATURAL HAIR "COMEBACK"
FT BRITISH NATURALS
I posted >this link< to a BBC World News report yesterday and I was pleased to see quite a few other natural ladies sharing it.
At about 3am the other morning I was surprised to hear the News Anchor ask "What do the South African President, Hollywood Red Carpet, and Afro hair have in common?"
I was completely baffled but as soon as I saw the report I knew I had to share it with you guys. I especially love the old school British Pathe footage at the beginning.
According to reports, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, has sparked some controversy with his comments in regards to the colonialised mindset of some Africans. Be warned most reports focus on his comments about owning pets (see for yourself >here<) but I was pleased to see this one by the BBC's Lebo Diseko, in response to President Zuma's reference to Black people's hair. President Zuma is quoted as having said:
"Even if you apply any kind of lotion and straighten your hair you will never be White."
There is so much that could be said about this comment, and I'd love to hear your opinions.
I couldn't comment on his remarks regarding pets, but as for the above sentence about hair, I agree. However, that DOES NOT mean that every Black person who wears straight hair (their own or otherwise) is trying to be White. That would be a completely unfair an inaccurate assumption to make; none the less, there's something to be said for Homi Bhabha's post-colonialist "theory of mimicry", which I'll discuss next week.
It was great to see British Naturals Anastasia Chikezie, owner of Purely Natural hair salon >here<, and Erica Rutherford, co-founder of Love Harlem natural hair products >here<, being interviewed. I especially appreciated Anastasia's nod towards the influence of social media on the increasing number of ladies going natural. As a blogger it's so encouraging to hear that posting my 2pence into cyberspace can contribute to making significant social changes.
However, the term "Comeback" in the title, did make me think about the fact that many people speculate about natural hair as just a trend. Let me be clear, and in some ways echo the point made by President Zumba, no matter how you choose to wear your hair, your natural hair will never disappear. Whether you straighten it or place it under a weave or embrace it, your natural hair shouldn't ever be just a trend because much like everyone else hair, Afro hair has always been around and always will, it's just whether we choose to be real about it or not.
What did you think of the report?
