Reflections of an Artist: Nappy is Not a Negative Word!

The other day at work, one of my high school students, a black girl that I teach brought up a question, "Why is black people's hair so short and nappy? Why doesn't our hair grow long and white people and everyone else's hair is automatically longer and more "manageable" than ours"? I tried to answer her question to the best of my ability, telling her what I had learned in college as a psych major! I begin to tell her how as decedents from Africa which is very hot we didn't "evolve" with longer hair because the climate in Africa was much hotter than the climates from which other races evolved and then I went on to tell her that Europeans who lived in colder climates "evolved" with extra hair to keep warm which is why they are hairier than others. Can you imagine how hot we would have been with longer hair on our heads and bodies I asked, She stopped to think about it, and then she went on to say how she hates black hair and how's it's short, kinky and nappy as if it where something to despise! I was stuck on stupid for a while, I didn't really know what to say to her. As the conversation got heavier it was time to go, so I ended the discussion by saying "there's no such thing as good or bad hair, hair comes in all different textures and lengths who's to say which is better than the other. Hair is hair and that's just the way it is".

On the ride home from work I couldn't stop thinking about some of the statements made in class and I how much I wanted to say more, and I begin to ask myself why does she feel that way about herself and and other black people. Then it hit me that everyone you see in the media who's viewed as gorgeous or beautiful has long flowing hair. So people who don't know any better can't help but to think that the person on the magazine or in the videos or movies hair is what is perceived as "good" hair or the hair to be desire. Then I asked myself, what if where the other way around and natural hair or kinky, and nappy hair was the hair that everyone who was viewed as gorgeous or beautiful on T.V., on the cover of magazines, or in the movies had, would her and others attitude change about what is quote on quote "good" hair or "bad" hair? and would she still hate black peoples hair?