Get Mad about Something That Matters!!

I normally don't like to dedicate my blog to ranting because I'm really committed to the cause of spreading poetry and creative expression and I don't like negativity on my page...but some things just rub me so wrong that I have to speak up.

Ok. So, Kohls, one of the largest department store chains in the country, just came out with a "ghetto fab wig" and the Internets is all a-twitter about it. Heck! Twitter has been all a Twitter about it. As a proud natural, I guess I should be more upset about wig, but...eh ::shoulder shrug:: I agree. It is way tasteless and more than a little racially insensitive, but for real...Aren't there bigger things to be get upset about, good people?

Every natural hair, black entertainment, and urban site on the web is freaking out and I can't help but be disappointed in my people. I'm not going to lie. If this were a couple of years ago, I would have been raging too. "How dare Kohl's insult my beautiful, nappy locks??

But, nowadays, I try to reserve my rage for the things that make God angry. I want the things the breaks God's heart to break mine too. Jesus is probably rolling his eyes at this ghetto-fab afro fiasco. But -
the unemployment rate,
the fact that 1/50 children are homeless in America,
that more than 10 percent of all black males ages 25-29 are in prison in the US,
that kids are killing themselves daily because they think their lives have no value,
that kids are killing other kids in schools,
that kids are having kids themselves,

I'm sure that straight breaks his heart. Let's get mad about those things, instead.

Sesame Street's "I LOVE my hair" is the new jump off

Oh, Sesame Street, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

I found this video of the brown, afro-rocking Muppet sharing her love for her hair on the StyleList and I was immediately in love too. Like most little brown girls, I had major self-esteem issues growing up, that stemmed, in part, from my hatred of my hair. It never did what it was supposed to when I wanted it to and pretty much served as another reminder of how different I was from all of the blond, straight-haired, beautiful creatures I went to school with.

Eventually, I learned this little thing called self-love, realized that my worth resided in much more than my looks, cut off all of my hair and decided to start afresh. But, accepting and embracing my individuality has certainly been a process.

If this awesome song can save just one little brown girl for self-loathing and white-girl hair envy, that would make me oh-so happy:)

This pretty much made my whole week. Hope it brings a bit of sunshine to yours too!



"Don't need a trip to the beauty shop. 'Cause I love what I got on top. It's curly and it's brown and it's right up there! You know what I love? That's right, my hair! I really love my hair!"