Are the fine arts a black free zone? November 5, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aimlessly wondering around South East London one afternoon, I idly found myself at the Tate Modern. With admission free, I thought why not fill up my time doing something a bit cultured, and enjoy some modern art? Walking through the gallery that is home to a multitude of paintings and installations, I became incredibly aware of two features a huge majority of its visitors had in common. One, they were white and two, they were middle class. Making my way though the gallery, I stumbled upon a rare sight: a young man who actually shared my skin tone. He definitely noticed me just like I noticed him. We both looked at each other as if we’d turned up to an event wearing the same T-Shirt. It was almost as if we were wondering what the other one was doing there? As if we were shocked that another black person could appreciate modern art. This got me thinking about Black people’s contribution to the fine arts. Why is it that when it comes to the areas of the arts like dancing and singing (in particular street dance and gospel music) you will find heaps of Africans and Caribbean’s? But when it comes to the fine arts like painting, ballet or theatre dark faces are scarce? I once invited an old acquaintance who is of Jamaican decent to accompany me to the National Portrait Gallery in Charing Cross. Her reply was “what would I want to do that for? It’s just bullshit for pretentious white people”. At first I thought her comment was, using her language bullshit, but now I think it has some substance. There is no doubt that art can be pretentious. The discipline is full of arrogant intellectuals, who all believe they are gifts to humanity because they can throw some acrylic paint on a canvas and earn millions off it. They give the impression that because they express themselves for a living that automatically makes them ‘cool’ (I would say that attitude makes them more cocks then cool but anyway). I guess black people are less involved in the fine arts because they have a lower tolerance of pretentious bullshit than their white counterparts. Black people are no less cultured or intelligent as white people; I think it much more to do with upbringing. Discipline levels in black and white families differ. Black kids are beaten and would not even dare to answer their parents back, whereas white children are encouraged to speak their minds, and some even curse their parents. To an extent white children possess more freedom growing up then than black kids. This sense of freedom is essential to understanding what art is all about in the first place. Back at the Tate Modern I overheard a posh, middle class mother and her little girl who couldn’t have been more than five looking at an abstract piece by Léger. “Mummy, I don’t like it. It’s weird.” The little girl said “Wonderfully weird darling. Wonderfully weird.” The mother replied. Part of me was disgusted by the mother’s comment. Only a pretentious white middle-class hippy type could come out with a comment so vile. Another part of me felt happy that she was encouraging her daughter to acquire an artistic vision. I began to grow tired of the Tate and decided to leave, but the sight of one piece stopped me in my tracks. Trinidadian artist Chris Ofili’s ‘No Woman No Cry’ which is a tribute to the murdered London teenager Stephen Lawrence was arguably the most beautiful painting on display. It was the only painting that consistently had a crowd of keen arty types surrounding it. A black artist breaking through to white majority audience is something to celebrate. Through the amount of heart in ‘No Woman No Cry’, other paintings failed to compare. Black people are creative, talented, colourful and full of heart. This needs to be more apparent within the fine arts.

 

British Black Man August 6, 2009

British Black man you seem perplexed

They say you were incongruous to Britain, is that why you’re so vexed?

Maybe you’re not vexed; but you’re just a bit complex

Let’s journey to your youth and discover why you’re wearing that Rolex

Too many Caribbean boys grow up without an adequate dad

The nuclear family unit is something they’ve never had

It’s like their fathers think the act of procreation is just a trivial fad

Can you blame tomorrow’s British black man for feeling mad?

It’s not like African boys don’t also have it tough

Constantly striving to prove to their parents that they’re good enough

Study those books hard to become a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer

What happens when tomorrow’s British Black man doesn’t actually want that career?

Perhaps it’s wrong that it’s a woman that teaches Caribbean boys how to be a man

Perhaps it’s wrong that African parents think that they can

Dictate their son’s choices, pressuring them for educational attainment

Although they mean well, this can only end with resentment

Resentment leads to anger and anger leads to the word gang

In a gang environment guns usually go bang

That sound would be Kofi, Jermaine, or Shola being shot in the head

And what d’you know that’s another British black man dead

You seek for support and find refuge in hip hop

You can’t help it you just feel so good when the beat drop

Someone you can relate to has ridiculous money and fame

Then you think hip hop is one of limited routes to make it big in the game

Yes listen to the profound lyrics of Talib Kweli, Nas and The Roots

But pay no mind to fucking 50 cent encouraging you to pick up a gun and shoot

The fool only raps about bullets, money and misogynistic nonsense

An intelligent young man would look at him with repugnance

Never ever be idiotic enough to call your black woman a ho

The magnitude of the effect it has on her confidence you could never know

The truth of the matter it makes her fell lower than low

Call her that and contrary to the name ho, your dick she will never blow.

Don’t judge your black women on the shade of her skin It’s like a competition between you brothers; if your girl’s light skin you win Also why must she have long, straight hair? Do you know that you’re comparing her to the white woman, or don’t you care?

British black man fuck your critics, you aren’t destined for a life of crime

You don’t need to be at Pentonville Prison, Holloway doing time

Upset the status quo, you don’t have to listen to Hip Hop, Funky House and Grime

Just do you, that’s when you will truly shine.

But no, your too concerned about your swagger

You won’t be cool if they know you really listen to ABBA

You can’t tell your Bredrins you didn’t actually shag ‘er

British Black man just don’t make black women madder.

Black bitches bite harder than white July 14, 2009

You’ll find her in shopping centres, posh boutiques and anywhere she can splash the cash on material things. She is the ultimate material girl, armed with her Louis Vuitton purse , fierce heels, a full face of Mac, and fourteen inches of Remi Goddess sewn to her head. She is the black bitch and she  possesses a critical eye, that exceeds that of her of her white counterparts.

I had an exchange with a pair of  black bitches this afternoon at Whitely’s shopping Centre in west London. As I was entering the ‘Miss Thangs’ were leaving, and shared a snigger over the way I was dressed. I had tied up my afro up with a multi-coloured African scarf, along with my trademark wooden dangly earrings. Lets just say I have an ethnic, bohemian look that I feel reflects my general outlook.

“What the hell does she have on?” Black bitch number one stage whispers to black bitch number two. (It always confuses me when people whisper loudly, defeats the purpose just a bit.)

“She looks ridiculous.” Black bitch number two replies.

I immediately felt incensed by these comments and couldn’t control the “Black bitches!” heckle that escaped my mouth. They turned around in disbelief that I had been so openly rude. You see black bitches don’t understand direct confrontation,  they only say how they really feel behind your back. They gave me two dirty looks and then stomped off, in their killer heels, swaying their hips as they went.

It was silly really to react the way I did. In hindsight it makes sense that by them commenting on the way I was dressed only reflected their own insecurity. The clothes, the heels, the make-up and fake hair are only there to cover up a deep disatisfaction they must have with themselves. Moreover, I think they were the ones that looked more ridiculous with those weaves trying to emmulate Europeans. Someone once told me that black women wearing straight  weaves is as ridiculous as  a horse trying to look like a rabbit. I am beginning to agree.

Black women have slowly become over critical of their sisters. Black womens’ comments on eachother are much harsher than the odd bitchy remark white women make on each other.What struck me about these black women is that they failed to embrace afrocentric style. Surely as black women they should welcome a sister who is not afraid of her dark skin, her kinky hair or her full lips. But no, If a sister ain’t trying look white, she just don’t look right.

Back with a bang and still pro black March 3, 2009

It definately has been a while. Next month will mark a whole year since I have posted on this blog. Lets just say I have been side tracked, a draining  part time job, deadlines and life have consumed my time. Nevertheless, I have severly missed posting on this blog, and have been touched that people have actually began to comment. It’s great. So I’m back and I want to write more about Black Hair Politics.

I also wish to expand the the project somewhat. I stated in the first post that blogging about black hair could be considered a trivial matter, hence the fact that there are so many more important societal issues. With the reform of  Black Hair Politics I wish to evolve the blog into more of a Black People’s Politics  forum, including discussion about black history.

No doubt hair will still be on the agenda, but I want to expand the site and acquire more knowledge. In a sense everything about life could be classed as political statement  from how we dress, to the music we listen to to even  to what we eat. I want to capture the essence of this in the continuation of the site.

To anyone who has read the posts so far. Thank you for taking the time to share my thoughts, I hope you continue to do so.

Monkeys with wigs???????!! April 18, 2008

What do you think of this guy’s argument? Is he right?

Why don’t black people sell their own hair products? April 18, 2008

Is it just me, or is it everytime you go into a black cosmetics store, there are other races (usually Asians) behind the counter? I am a north londoner and the biggest black cosemetic store chain in the area is situated in Finsbury Park-Pak Stores. Pak Stores are worth millions, if you take a look at Stroud Green Road, it is clear to see that they have monoplised the whole area; green Pak stores signs everywhere you look. Do black people have a problem with this though? In no way is this a racist post, suggesting that different races cannot sell the products of another race. But is it not an issue that black people are not the ones to profit from products that are made for black people. Yesterday I stopped some shoppers at the Finsbury Park stores to get their views.

Denisha Johnson, 19 is a student at Middlesex University, and lives in Tottenham, North London. She is a regular customer of Pak stores, she said: “I come here to buy the hair for my extentions, cocoa butter, Dax and other products you can’t find in in Boots or Superdrug.” Commenting on the store being run by Asians she said: “I’m not that keen on it. It’s not just here though, it’s wherever you go in London. It would be better if black people were the ones making money off black people. But then again black people don’t get off their lazy arses and do something about it. It’s all very well to complain, but if there is no action what can you do?”

Sheila Owusu, 41, an accountant from Holloway said: “If black people were the ones selling they could offer a lot more assistance to you as a customer, because they would know what they are talking about. I come here and they try to sell me hair of two different colours and get me to mix the two. A black woman would know that would come out looking terrible!”

The store manager refused to comment on the staff’s knowledge of black hair products and requested me to leave the store.

Through asking around, it is clear that many black women do not like buying their products from other races, but since there is a lack of black alternatives they make do. Pak Cosmetics simply saw a market and exploited it, and that’s buisness for you. It seems that the complaints of black people against black people will remain merely complaints, unless they can offer something better for the black market.

Invasion of the Black-Blonds April 4, 2008

They’re increasing in great numbers. They are the ones that choose to rock a hair colour that’s lighter than their own skintone. Hosts of celebrities are doing it; Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Kelis, Eve, and Keisha Cole. They are the black-blonds and they’re taking over.

Is it really a good look though? It has to be admitted it suits some. Light skinned black people look better with it then dark-skinned. But still, it looks totally unnatural, and in many cases quite cheap.

One could even view it as again celebrating Western beauty, as opposed to young black women embracing with their Afro-Carribbean (I hate that word, but I’ll use it anyway.) features. Once that is mentioned, the argument can go on and on. Is it just their hair that black women are dissatisfied with? Or does go further to include the flat shape of the nose, the big lips, and the dark skin? In many black and even asian cultures it is considered more attractive to be fairer, thus skin-lightening products are not uncommon within the black and asian communities. It is ironic that Caucasions spends hours sunning themselves on beaches to look darker, when black people are using all sorts of toxic creams to look lighter. It seems no one is happy with what their genes dealt them.

However, It could be suggested that black women dying their natural hair blond, or getting blond weaves put in is symbolic of the age we are at. An age of multi-culturalism, an age that has begun to see little wrong with mixing colours; black, white, yellow, green, whatever. As we are in an age of mixing what is wrong with a black girl borrowing her look from a white girl and vice-versa? White girls rock cornrows these days too, thus it seems we’re all borrowing each other’s looks.

Of course it’s my hair.I paid for it! March 28, 2008

The weave- it gets its fair bit of criticism. Ask any man and he would most definately cuss at a girl that always wears one. But what’s wrong with weaving? Many men will say that they are fake, and in a sense false advertising. When guys see a hot girl , one of the main features that attracts him to her is her hair. It is understandable that a guy might be a bit pissed off at the discovery that it is not real!

Those that are still all for black power would suggest that weaving sees black women trying to look white, and obviously for them the weave is a big no, no. Personally, I dismiss the politics behind the weave and say that fake hair is great hair! It allows for versality, so you don’t get bored sporting the same hairstyle day in day out. Is it not the case that wearing a weave is just like wearing make up? Make-up does not tranform a girl’s looks, it enhances them-the weave has the same effect.

However, it must be pointed out that the most popular weave style is long and straight- emulating European hair. It can be accepted why this is an issue. Is the fact that so many black women weave to have the ideal long, straight hair a form of self-loathing. Are black women dissatisfied with their natural kinky, frizzy and even nappy hair? and are we conforming to Western ideals of beauty?

In some respects I think western ideals of beauty still prevail, and because of this discrimination in the beauty industry will always be there.

The Black Panther Party are wrongly admired to this day March 11, 2008

What connotations come to mind when you think about the panther? Strong, powerful, dominant and fearless- it could be said that the controversial Black Panther Party embodied these characteristics. There are however, alternative characteristics associated with the panther; characteristics that fail to capture the essence of the animal in such a favourable light. What about predator, dangerous and even a beast that is capable of heinous violence.

The Black Panther Party without a doubt possessed all of the characteristics of a panther. Yes, they were strong and powerful, being the first black political organisation to actually stand up and be heard at a time when black people did not have a voice (The clenched fist, the renowned symbol of black power was created by the Black Panthers). Of course they had tremendous effects on the attitudes of young black people of the time, It created a new positive air of self worth. However, the methods of the Black Panthers were all wrong. They were dangerous, ALWAYS using force to be heard. Take their attire for example, often military jackets, hats, the afro and complete with a huge gun strapped to their chest, intimidating to say the least. To this day the Panthers are admired by black people as if they were heros. (their politics have even sparked the creation of the New Black Panther Party. a modern version of the original organisation.) Little emphaisis is given to their violent side.

Malcolm X, Black Power and their relevance to hair March 7, 2008

He has been called a hero, a leader and even the father of Black Power, but was Malcolm X really such a great man? Many disagree with the favourable pictures painted of him, branding him an extremist, crazy and even a racist spokesman of the fanatical Nation of Islam. Which description did the real X fall under, and what relevance did he have to black people and their hair?

Malcolm X was born in 1925 in Nebraska. His father is said to have been an outspoken Baptist speaker, that was strongly affiliated with an activist group called the Universal Negro Improvment Association. from a young age he was exposed to politics and the social inequalities of black people; living in that era social inequality was his world. His mother was light-skinned, and it is often documented that X often shunned her for that reason, claiming that she looked like a white woman. While X was still young three of his uncles were violently murdered by white men in racist attacks, (attacks of this kind are depicted in the film ‘Mississippi Burning’) . This has been suggested to fuel an element of hatred for white people in X, a hatred that would later be the ammunition of the Black Power movement. X was baptised Malcolm Little, but in 1952 changed his surname to X in the pursuit of freeing himself of his “slave name”. He chose X, as this was often the symbol branded on the arms of slaves. The Caucasion sounding names of black-Americans are usually the names of the slave masters of their ancestors, thus many blacks opted to changing their names. The most common example is Mohammed Ali, who was born Cassius Clay.

X spent a proportion of his life in prison for theft. It was while in Prison that he developed a profuse thirst for reading, and spent much of his time in the prison library. He acquired the nickname Satan among fellow inmates for his well known hatred of the God, the Bible and religion in general. After serving his sentence, he met Elijah Muhammad. The two of them would serve to publicise The Nation of Islam, and the growing political movement of Black Power.

The Nation of Islam is a religious, social and political organisation that promotes ideas of Black Supremacy. It preaches, like regular Islam that there is no other God but Allah. Their beliefs go further to suggest that the human form of Allah was witnessed in W. D. Fard, the creator of the Nation of Islam. The organisation is often rightly called racist, for example, they frequently refer to white people as “the devil” in their teaching.The nation of Islam seemed to capture the minds and hearts of many young black people of the time; it was new, it was liberal and it was the first organisation to state that black people were not inferior to white people, but in fact preech the opposite. It was almost as if the organisation was fashionable, Mohammed Ali, a strong public figure at the time was doing it, so eveyone else wanted to follow suit. There was a change of thinking, and this trancended into the way Black people saw themselves. They were no longer ashamed to be black, they were proud-This was the essence of Black Power and the birth of the afro hairstyle.

The afro became the symbol of Black Power, it strongly stated the common expression “Black is beautiful” which played a huge role in the liberation of black people. However, a dark-side can be suggested. The movement was so closely connected with the Nation of Islam, which has been shown to be openly racist. Malcolm X could be called a hero  on one hand, but he can also be called an istigator of hate and extremist views on the other. There are even FBI files on X that claim that he was in fact Schizophrenic.

Malcolm X was assasinated on February 21 1965. His extremist views and his affliation with the Nation of Islam served to kill him. Was this the death of a great man, an activist that caused black people to gain selfworth that trancended into the way they wear their hair? Or was this the end of a hateful man that promoted racism in Black people? What do you think?