The recent article in the local newspaper about the young lady who was asked to cut her locks was very troubling to me. I posted about the issue here and some of the comments showed such a level of ignorance and lack of acceptance for people being different, that I feel compelled to continue to try and share information with those who read here, about what is now widely called the "Transitioning Movement". Just look around you and you will see the "natural hair journey" is well under way and locks are a huge part of that Transitioning Movement.
There was a recent article in the New York Times about this Transitioning Movement that explains the beauty and excitement around the Movement with succinctness. Please go here and watch the video and then come back here to to Emerge Peoria to discuss. An excerpt from the NY Times article is below:
There are as many “natural hair journeys” as there are transitioning women. What I find remarkable about the movement is the way it is spreading through black women in America. Many are transitioning silently, without much fanfare. Some are inspired by friends and family members who have already made the switch. As Anu Prestonia, the owner of Khamit Kinks, a natural hair salon in Brooklyn, told me, “There’s been an evolutionary process that has turned into a revolution.” It is not an angry movement. Women aren’t saying their motivation is to combat Eurocentric ideals of beauty. Rather, this is a movement characterized by self-discovery and health.
But black hair and the black body generally have long been a site of political contest in American history and in the American imagination. Against this backdrop, the transition movement has a political dimension — whether transitioners themselves believe it or not. Demonstrating this level of self-acceptance represents a powerful evolution in black political expression. If racial politics has led to an internalization of self-loathing, then true transformation will come internally, too. It will not be a performative act. Saying it loud: “I’m black and I’m proud” is one thing. Believing it quietly is another. So the transition movement is much more profound and much more powerful — and I believe it offers lessons in self-acceptance for people of all hues and all genders. Source