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Black like me

Why don't you want to be black like me ? I had to take a couple of days to regroup and respond after reading the article in the Washington Post about young Jamaican girls wanting to be white. As a Black person and a parent I was mortified that we are producing offspring that want to look white. Where did we fail?

Let me say first, that we have failed to instill in our youth their connection to being the original people on this planet. By doing this we have opened the door for some other people to establish what looks good and what looks bad. We tell our youth to get their teeth straightened we tell them to perm their hair and we tell them that they are fat etc. We allow them white heroes and sheroes. We even teach them that white folks are going to save us. Your silence about our greatness is reducing us to a second class status that we don't need to reinforce.

What we are really telling them is that they are not acceptable the way they are . By making wholesale changes to eyes, teeth,hair and skin etc. they think that they fit the mold of beauty established by some new to the planet people.

The airways are full of white people living glamorously with straight teeth,straight hair and skinny bodies. This is a deceptive way to influence our perception of beauty. To me our real beauty is defined by our sisters that won't let european culture define their existence here in amerika. We collectively need to start to teach our very young about real beauty not bought beauty.

To want to be like anyone other than who you are is a learned behavior. It is an abomination to the creative process. This entire generation of youth are suffering from low self esteem taught to them by parents suffering from low or no self esteem. When these kids look in the mirror and don't love what they see, we as black people are in trouble. It signifies that we have been asleep at the wheel. Usually when these same kids don't feel good about themselves they start to exhibit self destructive behavior like trying to be someone else.

What could worse than looking in a mirror and not wanting to be that person? It will certainly lead our youth on the path to cosmetic changes and or alterations of the mind and body. An attempt to change the outside is a sure sign that an attempt will be made to change the inside.These negative feelings must be dealt with. This will most likely take place with the use of some mind altering drugs or alcohol.

As you can see when our youth don't feel good about themselves the problems will follow. Please don't allow for other people thoughts and ideas about beauty and lifestyle to mislead you into rearing a child that wants to be someone else. Your child's uniqueness should not be over looked for one minute as they are looking around trying to fit in.

We must not teach our youth to hate white people but MUST teach them to love their Blackness. Kids that are taught to love who they are will usually avoid this self destructive behavior mentioned here.

Where can our kids learn to love themselves for who they are ?

Who can show them from birth how great we are? What example can you give them to follow?

For the answer YOU need to look in the mirror.



Hotep, Brother Dalani Aamon

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