>>...What many Black people exclude from
>>"Afrocentric" is waaay out of
>>wack. If you'd ever studied
>>African hair styles you'd see
>>that for centuries Africans have
>>dyed their hair
>>by adding pigment, added hair pieces,
>>worn wigs, and used many
>>other processes to mold, style
>>and shape their hair into
>>probably thousands of styles. By
>>the standards of some of
>>the people above, the originators
>>of the styles they mimic
>>
>>would be considered "unnatural" and therefore
>>some how inferior.
>>
>
>Our BRAIDING is one thing that
>we DID carry from Africa.
>They cannot be considered inferior
>because if you have ever
>seen may photos of people
>from different countries and cultures,
>you would see that the
>styles that are worn by
>many are very normal.

I think youve missed the point here. weaving, extentions and using hair pieces is a form used all over the world by many different cultures including Africans and goes much farther then
just adding hair for braiding. According to the people some of the people on this board have who have natural hair act as if adding hair to ones own or even coloring is automatically "self hate" and some how very "unafrican" when its far from the truth.
Everyone want to say "I'm more enlightend cus my hair is natural and your's is not!" Sometimes I wonder if people go natural just so they can feel "enlightened".
>Also, the people who do love
>thier OWN hair and choose
>to wear it as such
>are MIMICING THIER OWN,

are they really...keep on reading...

>are NOT like MOST black
>women straightening thier hair because
>of a CULTURE of SELF-HATE
>and this is MOSTLY the
>case. Go to a SALON
>and ASK these women about
>the Africans they are mimicing,
>THEY will tell you
> they ARE NOT.

Ask most natural haired people which africans they are mimicing
or the meaning and history behind their styles and they cant tell you much about it either. I know many a brother with locs who dont know a damn thing about why its be done. I know many a fro wearing sista who dont know a damn thing about where that came from either. I refuse to admonish someone because they dont know the africans they are mimicing because if I did I'd be hatin on 99% of black people.


>
>Don't throw everyone in the same
>pot by calling one more
>lost than the other

That's what I'm asking you to do!
I didnt call one more lost the the other...
...I call us all lost! The fact is most people dont know the heritage behind their hair be it straight or nappy. People always think because they do this or that somehow that makes them better or more "aware". B.S. I say!

>
>The point is that although YOU
>may be aware of African
>traditions, EVERYONE else are less
>likely to be.
My point exactly. Those "natural" brothers and sisters who are not aware of african tradition behind their own hair shouldn't go on the blacker then thou crusade that I often see on this board and other places because they are just as ignorant on the topic as the permed are. We're all equally black.


To say
>that Africans did it is
>weak when you know that
>these Africans here in this
>country are perming thier hair
>for another reason, cause they
>ain't got that "good" hair...

Not all black people who do perm or straigten automatically fall under the catagory of "self hate". Are there some? Yes. But to make the sweeping generalization that all of the permed people hate their own hair is ridiculous. Just like it's idiotic to think all natural people are some how down for the cause.
We all have issues of self hate...weather it be about weight, height, looks, hair. everyone has something they dont like about themselves 100%. To judge others and look down on them because you don't have problem with the same issue they do is silly.

My mother wore and afro for 10 years then braids then straighten, then natural, then straight, then weave, and now is going natural again. she clearly doesn't hate her nappy hair she wouldn't to for such long periods of time with a huge puff ball on her head or cornrows when it wasnt yet popular again and yet if you saw her walking down the street now with straight hair you'd assume you knew all about her and her "self hate" ...when you know nothing of her self love or history!
Don't judge a book by its cover you might just miss all the loverly text inside!:)

When people realize there are revolutionaries with perms and thugs with afros,black people will be better off.
>peace

...for the record...I'm nappy as I wanna be.

Why would God have given you in life a questioning mind if not to hand to you in death the blinding answers!!!

AIM Carmel3494 say ure okp