Umma do me...

Last month I visited an old high school buddy. This buddy is very talented in the restaurant industry and has traveled a lot. He has finally settled down in Naples, Florida and finds himself quite content. In addition to being in sunshine and warm weather everyday, he is going what he loves to do, working hard, and is getting the props he deserves. His new place of employment is so posh, that you need to have a membership to eat his delightful meals. I, his best friend, couldn't even dine in his restaurant...humf! I did however, get some great breakfast and frozen pizzas. He also treated me to some great seafood places on the Gulf. I love dining with him because he knows so much about food & beverages that it makes a regular eating experience ten times better!

The best part of the entire trip was seeing my buddy happy, smiling from the inside because was now at a place in his life where he can just... do him!

Is your career like that?

Natural Beauty

I love my hair! This new found love was not acquired until Fall of 2004, when I was finished transitioning from relaxed hair to natural hair. Once I cut the final remnants of relaxed hair I felt connected to the real me. Over the years, this love has grown as I have come to understand how unique my hair is and just how versatile it is. I love running my fingers close to my scalp and feeling the tiny curls that spring from it!

Last month I got my hair braided and I've been surprised at the new attention I receive from the opposite sex. My cousin once told me that males love the fantasy of long hair. She said, "It's 85% of what they look for." Now, as much as I honor the advice of someone older than me, I did have to consider her perspective, an entertainer. Lately, I've been pondering our conversation. Would I get the same recognition from these males if I wore my hair in an afro, twists, or locs? Some of my colleagues have even commented on the difference in appearance that I now have with my braids.

I sometimes find it difficult to believe in the true definition my individual beauty in a society that values the generic, euro centric type. It's even more difficult to do this when brothas feed into the latter. Now, I realize that my hair, relaxed, braided or natural, attracts certain type guy, but shouldn't my personality be the determining factor as opposed to my hair?

That's That: Perception of Beauty

It was early Saturday afternoon when I decided to catch up on some music videos as I folded my laundry. I figure, I need to know what dances and song lyrics to watch out for in my classroom. R. Kelly & Snoop Dog's "That's That" comes on and I think, "Oh, this is that song I've been hearing on the radio." It's been growing on me, so I decide to watch it. As I see video chick after video chick I notice a pattern.

They're all light complexion Black women, Latinas, or white women!

I try to give R. Kelly the benefit of the doubt when I see a chick with a brown/dark complexion. But no, they put her under high beam light giving her more of a light complexion.

What are these types of images doing to the self-esteem of young Black girls who idolize these "video vixens"?

Are young girls measuring their worth based on their curvaceous curves or how much they've learned?

It has taken me many years to become comfortable with my complexion and body. As a young woman, I am still battling against society's perception of beauty that values European features as opposed to womanly curves. I'm also battling a culture that values the measurements of my bust, waist, hips, and booty as opposed to my ACT/SAT test scores or college degree!

Young Black females have the feat of going against a lot of opposition from the womb. As I begin my sixth month of teaching a second grade class of twenty boys and five girls, I take it as my personal duty to help the young ladies in my class decide how they want to measure their worth: booty or brains.

Enjoy the film!