Hair Talk Esp. 8 - Black People And Good Hair/Texturism || Klassically Kept

Guys so before we get into this video, i just kind of want to give you a quick disclaimer. So for those of you who don't know when it comes to youtube or when it comes to audio most of the time, you will see someone filming with a camera, but then they also have like backup audio, whether that be their phone or whether that be like A microphone it gives better quality. I have no idea what was going on with my camera. The audio was saved, but the actual footage for a portion of the video was deleted. I even tried a recovery service and they could not find it on my sd card. Okay, so this video is a little long. Is it about 52 minutes, but i know it's a video that you guys have been waiting for so just bear with me. The content is there, it's just that i would say for probably about 12 minutes of the video you won't actually be seeing my face. I have no idea what happened to the footage, but the audio is still there. Okay, so let's go ahead and get into the video good afternoon. For those of you who don't know, my name is mike ren, i run a fashion blog called classically kept. It does feature luxury contemporary and how to style and now natural hair care. So if you are into any of those things, please consider subscribing and clicking the notification bell to my channel. That way, you will never miss a video, so today's video we are finally going to address. I guess the elephant in the room, or the ever talked about uh topic when it comes to natural hair. If you are new here welcome, if you are coming back and enjoying the series, i thank you so much. I will link the entire hair talk series down below and really i like to keep these videos very casual, get something to drink. Put the kids to bed get some wine get some juice. Get some coffee get some tea. I feel like this. One is going to be kind of long, but today we are going to talk about good, hair, okay and to very and to be very honest and transparent with y'all. I struggled because i know it's probably been about anywhere from two months to a month and a half when i told you that we were actually going to have this talk, and i was going to post it here on youtube. I struggled with putting this video together. Y'All, i truly did and the reason why is because i wanted to make sure that i didn't offend anybody. I wanted to make sure that i was being pc. I wanted to make sure that i was touching all standpoints. I wanted to make sure that i was not being biased and looking at it from different perspectives, and here is the truth of what i am learning just stepping into this. You know whether it be content, creation, fashion, influencer or just putting your opinion out there or being a voice for people to listen to and really in everyday life. The way that you live, your life, the way that you say things people are not. Everyone is not going to agree with you and you're going to offend someone so when, when i say that i was struggling because i wanted the video to be so perfect and i didn't want it to offend anyone and that's just not reality, you know the way That i say something or my opinion, someone is not going to agree with or they're going to be offended, but i will say this. I really appreciate you guys. I really appreciate my community because in these comments or in these hair talk videos in the comments it never gets disrespectful. We may not agree, but it never gets disrespectful. Okay, so these are so i guess i'm just going to put the disclaimer out there. These are not facts, these are opinions. These are my experiences. These are my opinions. These are other people's experiences. The only factual things that we will be talking about are going to be from a historical standpoint when we get into that part of the video okay. So i want to break this video kind of down into the three parts. The first part which you know again is, i know it's going to be a difference of opinion. The first part is going to be the ever famous chris rock good hair documentary from 2009. Then i want to break it down into my experience as far as good hair is concerned, i do want to bring a couple of - i guess - social media or people who are larger than me and their issues with their hair, and then i just kind of want To briefly go over good hair and the historical standpoint of it, because if i was to sit down and go through the entire historical events or chronologically of good hair we'd be here all day. Okay, so i just kind of want to go over some of the historical events of quote: unquote, good hair, where we are now and where i think we're going to go with it. Okay, so let's go ahead and get started. Okay, so one more psa before we get started in my last hair talk video. I believe it was natural, hair and unwanted comments. I called my father slightly high, yellow a couple of days after that video posted. He called me and he said hello. My christmases you're a slightly light-skinned daddy, so he wants y'all to know that he is burnt almond okay. So, aside from that, let's go ahead and get into the video okay so part one and for the reasons that i'm getting ready to name in. Just all of my observations, this fully solidifies the reason why i did not watch the documentary when it first debuted, so chris rock made a documentary by the name of good hair and they debuted in 2009, okay and i'm just going to kind of go over. Some of my observations and some of my points for me personally and as a matter of fact, let's backtrack for a second. We all know that chris rock is a comedian that has been his life's work, that's what he is known for. So, even though he is a comedian for me personally, the documentary missed the mark and what i mean by that is because, from what i understand in the beginning of the video it started out with, you know the beautiful black women of the time, the josephine bakers, The other james and things like that, and then he starts talking about his daughters and it was supposed to be kind of an ode to his daughters. I think, because of such of this sensitive topic that he was talking about, i think he was trying to make light of the situation because he is a comedian, but for some people i think it was more so making fun of or talking about or even mocking, Black women, so a couple of my observations, the very first one is that it was not what i was expecting and that's because of the title, which is good hair right now in 2022, and probably i would say for a several years, good hair is talking about You know the actual texture of someone's hair or how their curl pattern is when they are natural, i think back then, in 2009, good hair was not, it didn't have the same connotation and what i mean by that is typically documentaries, especially if they're made in the Time that they're being talked about documentaries are going to meet society or that community, where they are and back then, when the documentary was made good hair was, moreover, sir, was your hair relaxed? Did you have weed and what type of weave did you have and what texture was it? I think if this video or this documentary was to be made here in 2022 or a little bit after the natural hair care movement, i think the documentary would have taken a very different turn and i'm going to get into some of that as well. But i just for me, i think he he he missed the mark. Okay, a couple things that i do want to point out. The very first thing that i thought that was just very unnecessary were the hair shows okay, if i'm watching a documentary, titled good hair. For me personally, i thought we would have been talking about like natural hair, relaxed hair or the curl pattern of someone not a hair show, because not only did we get the hair show, but we also got the preparation, which was totally unnecessary. We also saw the models practicing. I think at one point. The models were told not to eat for like two days to get ready for the show. For me personally, the preparation for their hair show was very unnecessary for a documentary that was titled good hair. The other thing that kind of stood out to me that was unnecessary were the conversations about weave at the barber shop. There were a couple of segments when chris rock was going into barbershops asking men about questions about weed. You know whether or not they had to buy weed for their daughter, their aunt, their sister and their mother, and they were talking about. You know how much it was, how much it cost. I think that was unnecessary again for this type of documentary that is more or so maintenance not talking about good hair, but again where we were in society. That'S what good hair was. It was paying money to have good hair. It was paying money to have a good weave. Now the men complaining about how much money they were spending and things like that totally uncalled for. We didn't need that in the documentary. Okay, um a couple of things that stood out to me that i wish she kind of would have expanded on because he did start talking about dudley's. He did start talking about relaxers and things like that, but two things that really stood out to me personally was the little girl that was sitting in her in her grandmother's lap. I think she was like at the time she's like four or five now, but her grandmother made a comment that she actually got her hair relaxed when she was like two or three years old. I can't even fathom that, but that's not even the particular part that stood out to me. The part that stood out to me that made me kind of sad was when the little girl said that she told one of her friends that she needs to get a relaxer, so her hair could be beautiful, and that's just what you do. I wish she would have segued that into something else, maybe about the pressures of getting a relaxer, or you know the complications of having natural hair. I wish she kind of would have expanded on that, the other one that stood out to me. It was a high school by the name by the name of the santa monica santa monica santa monica college, santa monica high school, and he was having a conversation with a group of young black women. Most of them were relaxed, some of them, i think, had weave, and then it was a light-skinned young woman who had natural hair, and it was very interesting because the light-skinned woman had natural hair and then the two brown-skinned women. I think one had weave and then one was just relaxed and they were making comments about her natural hair talking about yeah, it's cute, but as a professional. If you were to walk into my office, would i take you seriously? Would i give you a job that clip, i think was maybe three minutes. I think it may have been even less than that. I really wish he would have taken that and then taken the documentary into another direction. Um again, like i said, i i think he missed the mark, but because of the sensitive subject that he was discussing, i think he was trying to make light of the situation now. What i did not appreciate - and i think from a comedic standpoint - i think that's where he was going, but i didn't appreciate it is when he was trying to sell the african texture or the coarser texture on the street and no one would buy it. And then he physically went into the beauty, supply store and even the asian people who own the store said that that's not what people want. That'S, not what black women want. They want this silky yaki stuff that i didn't appreciate that to me was borderline mocking okay, because the texture that you're holding in your hand, is nine times out of ten the texture that grows out of our hair, okay or grows out of our head okay. So i think he i think he missed the mark, and i think that if he actually would have sat down and said you know what this could really be, something take the comedic um sentiment out of it and really dive deep get into the history, get into Good hair, because the term good hair has meant different things in different areas of life, and what i mean by that is now good. Hair is a vanity metric, but when the term good hair came about, it was not a vanity metric, it was a form of survival and we will get into that when we start talking about the historical standpoint, okay, but i think that the documentary could have taken A very different turn: i don't think he took it seriously again. I am fully aware that chris rock is a comedian, but i think, if you're going to talk about a topic like that, you need to do some research. You need to have interviews with people and he did you know he did have a couple of people with the confessionals you did have you know the women who were natural? You did have the women who were relaxed, but i just felt like those bits and pieces of what the documentary should have been and could have been about, were so my newton, so small. He was so busy focused on the hair show and talking about you know what type of weave that women are wearing and how much they're spending on it and what's good hair and what's not, i'm sorry, what's good weave and what's bad weave that i think the Documentary missed the mark and i think i'm just going to leave it at that, because i know some people in the comments and even in the comments, because i saw bits and pieces of it on youtube that i actually rented it on um. Prime people. In the comments or women in the comments were saying that they were offended and they felt like that they were being mocked, and i can completely understand that because here you are a black man with two young daughters. This is something that they might actually grow up. Seeing experiencing having to pay for - and i just kind of felt like you could have done better you - you missed the assignment, you could have done better, you could have taken a different standpoint and then, at the end, you could have taken time to show your appreciation For black women in their beauty and their hair, okay, so now, let's get into part two, i'm going to talk about some of my experiences when it comes to good hair, and then i do want to bring one other person's experience, which i'm pretty sure you know And heard of i'm just very late, okay, so the very first one that i do want to kind of point out is. I would say that this was probably high school, so i did have relaxed hair, but in high school. I was told by an older woman that in her city several years back that i would have been adopted solely because i had good hair doesn't matter. If you know i was a terrible child, she didn't say anything about, you know being a good girl. She didn't say anything about. You know my behavior or anything like that. It was just simply because of the grade of my hair. I would have been adopted right away and i found that very interesting, but at the same time, though, you always have to especially your elders, you respect people, but you especially respect your elders. They grew up in a very different time than you and i did, or as a millennial or agent z. They grew up in a very different time and as you get older, you're stuck in your ways. Okay, so, even though we are presently here in 2022 or back, then that was probably like 2007-2000. She has still had her experiences and she still knows what would have happened back in the day. Okay, so that's the first one, the second one which i'm pretty sure y'all heard me say before, and i make this disclaimer every single time. I straighten my hair every single time. Someone asks because i do have two videos of straightening, my hair. I will link those down below, but it's an assumption that i am mixed because i have good hair and, like i said before, i am here to tell you. I am not mixed. I am black, i'm blackity-black, i'm a negro, i'm colored! Okay. Now, if i was to be in jamaica, i would probably my mother and i because of the texture of our hair, we would probably be referred to as a but that still has some hint of being mixed. Okay, not 100 black, and, as i was growing up, my mother has always told me that i am beautiful. The way that i am. She has always told me to embrace my skin my complexion and especially my hair. If you guys don't know, my mother is not the one that relaxed my hair, i will link that video or my natural hair story down below as well, but i am not mixed okay, this misconception that you have to be mixed or that you have to be Of a lighter hue to have good hair just doesn't exist. Okay, the next one um i've never been called nappy-headed. I know a lot of people who choose to go natural have been called nappy-headed um i've. Never i've never been told that i've had a kitchen and, as a matter of fact, when i told people that i was going natural, they thought that i didn't have a relaxer to begin with. Okay, so whenever it comes to name calling or being put in a certain stereotype or getting looks about hair texture, that has never been my experience. Okay, okay, so the next one is just kind of like an experience that happened in college and neither me nor my friend were actually in the vicinity when it happened. I was actually studying and i'm not really sure where she was so apparently i was. I was in my dorm room studying, but apparently there was kind of like i guess, like a college talk or a hair talk or just like a forum in the student union on norfolk state's campus, and it was a forum about good hair and someone made the Comment about, or they were asking the men in the room, would you rather date a black woman or a young woman who had weave down to her butt? Or would you rather date a woman who was natural, but her hair was like big and just curly and one of the men stands up and he makes a comment and then someone says well what about maya and blank? I'M not going to say her name that same guy stands back up and says: well they don't count because they have good hair and when this information was brought to me, i just kind of was like hmm well. First of all, why am i being brought up in a room that i'm not even in which really me and me, and my friend because, like i said, both of our names were brought up which really sunk into me or which really brought it home for me That people have references that they use because it was quick. I mean his response to that. Woman was quick, he stood right back up and he said well, they don't count because they have good hair. So people's you know references or who they associate with good hair. Bad hair who's, pretty who's fat, who's, skinny people have references on deck, okay, but it just kind of sunk into me or just kind of solidified. For me that this is a real thing like this is a real issue, and people really take notice of this okay. So i've never really had any bad experiences with natural hair. I did have one experience and this is back in the unwanted comments and i briefly go over this one. I was sitting in blaze and i believe my hair was like either pulled back or it was like in mini twists and pulled back. I can't remember, and i'm sitting in blaze waiting for my pizza minding my own business, and this black man just makes a bee line for me like he doesn't even order his pizza. He walks up to me and he says you are absolutely gorgeous, but i wouldn't be able to date you because you're natural, okay, that's fine, i'm not really sure what the purpose was of you coming over here to tell me that, but i would probably have to Say that that is the only negative experience that i've had when it comes to natural hair, but the college experience kind of let me know that my hair grade is sometimes put on a higher pedestal than someone who, let's say, has 4c hair or 4b hair. And i find that very interesting and i also find that not degrading, but i find it i just. I find it's not fair, because i have seen women of all complexions and women of all textures who are absolutely gorgeous okay, so the second portion of the experience part i'm only going to give one example. This is an example, i'm always late. I guess whenever it comes to like celebrity gossip or celebrity news, and things like that, but i am bringing this to the forefront because we're talking about the subject. This is not about her. This is not about her family. It'S simply about the statements that she made. Okay, they were made back in august of 2021 so last year and i'm pretty sure if you haven't already guessed that we're going to be discussing deja harris and her uh twitter, not necessarily a rant but her twitter statement. Okay, i am not on twitter, but from what i understand black twitter is unapologetic. They will tell you about yourself, but at the same time they will defend you. So the statement reads right here and i'll put it up right here. So you can see him and i will read it along so on august 27, 2021, deja harris and we all know who her parents are. Okay, i hate to say slash, admit it, but i'm so sad that i have my dad's hair texture sad face because it's so much to deal with manage uh. Sad because i feel like it just doesn't fit me. Nor is this texture, one that's appreciated or uplifted as much as other hair textures and, of course, you know whenever it comes to, as they say, black twitter or really, like. I said before, putting your opinion out there or saying something: you're always going to have support. You'Re always going to have hate, and because of who she is, i mean this statement blew up um, like i said, i'm late, but you have many youtubers that were on youtube, commentating, making videos about this one entire subject. Okay, so of course she got some support. Who was saying you know women who have 4c hair, whether they were light skin brown, skin or dark sin. They were agreeing with her. They were like listen, it is a lot of work, but i still love it or listen. It'S a lot of work. Maybe you should try appreciate. Maybe you should try to appreciate it and kind of figure out how to deal with it. Instead of saying that you hate something: okay, then, of course you have the people on black twitter again, who are just making some of the most ridiculous comments like there was one comment on there. I think the young woman was like the audacity of the gods to give you like negro or nappy hair, so she got love and she got hate. So i guess she felt the need to make another statement and then this statement reads anytime. I see someone with type 4 hair, i always in all caps. I always compliment them because i know how it feels to genuinely not in all caps like your hair, slash texture. I never want anyone to feel like that. It looks so bomb on other people, but me question: mark yeah, no okay, so because we are talking about good hair, let's go ahead and unpack this statement. Let'S go ahead and unpack the first one, because i feel like there are a couple of things that need to be addressed in this statement. Okay and again, this was one of the reasons or one of the examples that i chose to put in this video, where i struggled because i'm trying to come at it from an unbiased standpoint. Okay, so the first part is i'm so sad that i have my dad's hair texture. Okay, if you don't know, deja harris is the child of tamika, tiny cottle, who is half white and half black and then ti. Okay, he's all black. We all know that and if you've seen the family, then you know the entire family is of a lighter complexion. I will say that okay - and we all see when t.i grows his hair out, that he has some very tightly coiled hair. Okay from some of the videos that i have watched, people have been joking and said he has 4d hair, okay, so for her to say her dad's texture, again, it's going back to. She got the nappy, the negro, that type of hair from her father, because her mother is half white which in part she would be about - let's say, 25, okay, so for her to say that she is so sad that she has her her dad's hair texture. That is, that is not necessarily problematic, but it's a little concerning, and let me say why. Okay, i myself have just stepped into parenthood, so i never want to. You know talk about someone's rearing talk about how the child grew up and things like that, because your child, your ways, your problems, your issues, your solutions, okay, but within this statement, also um sad because i feel like it just doesn't fit me. Nor is this texture. That'S one that is appreciated. Let'S talk about first, the fit me someone made a point that because she is light-skinned that she's supposed to have a looser curl pattern, or that is a misconception when it comes to natural hair in the black community or when it just comes to grades grain or Curl patterns, let me say this, though. As far as that point is concerned, if you look at, i believe it's damani, because i think she has three brothers and then one younger sister. I think it's damani. I know it's major and then there's another one. If you look at the three boys hair, it's of a much looser curl pattern, i've never seen tamika's hair and i'm going to assume that any other person in their family either has weave extensions. So they probably have a looser, looser grade of hair or grain of hair, and for me personally again like i said i never want to disrespect someone's rearing or things like that. But within that part of the comment i feel like, that is, more so of a more sort of an environmental nurture type parenting situation like i've told y'all before my mother instilled within me, always to love my complexion and to love my hair. It could be a situation where deja grew up around a bunch of women number one who only wore weave and may not have learned how to take care of their natural hair and just chose to where we even relax their hair or she may have grew up In a situation where it was never really talked about, so they never really taught her how to appreciate her hair or she could have been in an environment where a lot of the women in her life had easier time with their hair or they had a looser Curl pattern, or i know i keep giving a lot of auras but, like i said, i'm trying to come from this. You know in a whole way without being biased or she could have been an environment where she was maybe even though she was light-skinned. She may have been the black sheep because of the texture of her hair and maybe her brother, her sister, her aunt or maybe even her parents have maybe made a comment to her about the texture of her hair, okay and then she says. Nor is this texture. One that's appreciated or uplifted as much as the other hair textures, and that is completely 100 percent. True, we have come a long way, but there's still some work. That needs to be done so in her situation. I can understand where she's coming from, if she were a regular child, if she were just a light, skinned girl from charlotte north carolina who made a youtube video, it might have gone viral. But i don't think it would have had such an impact as it did, because of who she is. So in this situation, i'm going to say it's more so well, really it could be a nurture and an environmental situation because also again, like i said, i'm trying to look at this from a very unbiased standpoint, because also probably when she turns on the tv b-e-t Mtv when she looks at her favorite influencers, her favorite celebrities when she looks at her mother when she looks at her grandmother, she sees loose curl patterns. She sees weave representation matters. I know a lot of people, don't really think about it, but it's a very subconscious thing. But if you were constantly turning on the tv or if you constantly around women who are wearing weave or who always talking about you, know someone being a nappy-headed hoe or just being you know, nappy looking like a slick whatever it starts, it starts to weigh on You it starts to change your train of thought. Okay, so now, let's unpack her response or kind of herbie bottle anytime, i see someone with type 4 hair. I always compliment them because i know how it genuinely feels not to like your hair, slash texture. I think this was a backtrack um. I understand she's young, i understand. Maybe she wasn't expecting to get as much hate or as much love, but i think that is a backtrack. You are not spending your entire day when you're out in public complimenting every 4c hair person that you see you're, just not you'd, be doing it all day. Okay, 4c hair is very common. It is a hair texture with for black people who have natural hair. You are not spending your entire day doing that. Also the fact that you think that you need to compliment someone who has 4c hair nine times out of 10, especially when it comes to 4c. This woman is fully aware of that and she is wearing it, whether it be in an afro afro puffs, one large puff a top knot, braids, whether it be slicked back. She is fully aware of what her texture is. She doesn't need you to compliment her. Okay, compliments are: are nice, yes, but if you're doing it to um, if, if you're doing it, to have that person embrace their hair texture or let them know that it's okay just keep the compliment. It'S it's kind of like a backhanded compliment: okay, um and then it says it looks so bomb on other people, but me yeah. No, my response or my question to her is: have you tried it? I will say this because i briefly watched um their show. I will say this when she was younger, because she was not an adult and she was not able to make her own decisions or have so much um influence on her own appearance. When she was younger, she did wear her hair, like you know, with the braids and all of that and, of course, as she's gotten older, because i'm not really sure how old she is, i'm going to assume she's anywhere from 21 to 25.. Now you know it's very different: she you know she has the baby hairs laid um. I think they're, you parts y'all know i don't know anything about wigs. Okay, so excuse excuse my ignorance, but i think it's a u part or now they're doing the melted, invisible graphs. Those y'all know what i'm talking about those wicks. Okay, now she's wearing those she's changing the texture. She might go wavy, she might go curly. You know she might be a brunette, she might be a redhead, you know she might be blonde, she might now. She has more say about her appearance and it's very clear that that's what she likes, but my question is: have you tried? Have you actually sat down and tried? Have you asked for help? Have you been to a natural hair salon and i think they live in atlanta? So i know there is a natural hair salon that can help her out okay. So i just kind of wanted to bring that situation to light. I hope i was able to have an unbiased opinion, because i don't i don't fault her. Okay, i don't deja. Harris is a product of her environment as much as we all are, but that's why i said in the beginning, representation matters and how you speak to your children, even something you might think is my new as their hair, be cautious of what you're saying around your Child or the image or the idea that you're giving them when it comes to their hair, especially young women or young black women, okay, okay, so the last portion of this video is just gon na kind of be the history. It'S going to be very brief. I am not going to touch on all points, all aspects. This is not like a deep dive. It'S just trying to just kind of skimming over it. Then i was gon na kind of give my thoughts and then i'm going to stay where i think we are today and i think, kind of like what i think needs to be done or how it's going to happen. Okay, so let's start with, you know we're going to start with the slavery time. As we are all aware, we all know that there were africans that were brought over here and then they were slaves. Okay, but let's kind of start with where the good hair term phrase, i guess lifestyle thought characteristics came from okay, so of course we all know that there were different, i guess distinctions or titles or different um. What'S what i'm looking for a hierarchy when it came to slaves? Yes, we were all slaves, but there was a hierarchy and i think we all recognize that. Okay, we had, you know, field slaves. You know we had the joke about, you know porch slaves, and we also had house negroes, as you would call them. Okay - and this was more so, like you heard me mention in the in the beginning or closer towards the beginning of this, video good hair was not necessarily a vanity metric. It was more or so, a form of survival or a way for you to have a quote-unquote, better life as a slave, and what i mean by that is, if you had a looser curl pattern, if you had a better grade or grain of hair or if You had like more eurocentric characteristics or if your hair was able to be, i guess, manipulated into more of a eurocentric beauty standard you were able to, or you were allowed to come in the house and be a house negro and basically, what that is. You were still a slave. That is correct, but you had maybe a better job. You were able to get closer to the master. You were able to have better food. You may were even able to have a better bed better clothes. You were may even able to have, let's say, an illegal education. We all know that you know growing up as a slave. It was illegal for you to know how, for you to know how to read or for you to be educated, all of those things kind of came with a better life. You were still a slave, but you were going to have a quote-unquote, better life. Okay, so it wasn't necessarily a vanity metric, it was more so a survival or how you could um have a better life, so very early on, even with us being brought over here very early on. You can see that hair appearance and hair texture was placed very, very, very, very high. It was. It was high value. Okay, so let's go ahead and move into the posts. You know let's go ahead and move into the post slavery movement. You know when you start having the civil rights when you have all of these african americans, black people negroes, who are now free. You have to have some type of livelihood, correct, whether you were a woman or whether you were a man. Okay, let's focus more so on a woman in order for you to have a quote-unquote good job, a better job or a paying job. Again, you had to have more or so of a eurocentric type look and what i mean by that is, if you've ever seen or if you ever watched, i'm pretty sure you have it was on netflix. It was a biopic of madame cj walker, and there were two things that i want to point out. The very first thing that i wanted to point at point out is that when the actual biopic came on, she was talking about how her life was very hard and really the only job that she could get was a washer woman, and it was to the point Where sometimes she couldn't even make ends meet okay. The second thing that i want to point out about that biopic, i don't know if you remember. I just recently watched it. While i was working on my assignment, she was standing like in town and she was trying to sell some miracle hair grower from the light skin woman that she was. That was treating her hair. But there was a young woman while she was talking to the to the african-american women. There was a young woman who said that she wanted to get a new position or she wanted to get a job at the new hotel downtown and what they told her basically was that she didn't have the right look and basically, what they were saying is that She didn't have the right look. Her hair was too unruly, it was too black, it was too african. She wasn't able to get a face-to-face contact job. She was able, she was going to be able to be paid more money. She was able to get the job and that's why she wanted it and when you're looking at this woman, you can see that she does have one. You know close up the time, but her hair is also wrapped up what you will start to notice when you're. When you start doing your research about hair and back, then, is that when the african women were taken away from their homeland, they were using all types of natural herbs to take care of their hair. But when they were taken away from their culture, when they were brought over to a different country, they didn't have those things that were accessible to them, so they had to start using or they had to start thinking of other ways to care for their hair and A lot of times this left them with terrible terrible, terrible skin conditions and alopecia and also dandruff okay, so you will notice the the young lady that was talking. She did have her hair wrapped up and oftentimes. You know just with everyday life. You did not have the time to take care of your hair that you, the time that you have today. Okay, you were focused again on livelihood raising kids. You know a lot of the things that we don't necessarily take for granted today, but a lot of the things that we don't even think about today took hours and days and just took a whole lot of time to do. Okay. So now, let's kind of move into the height of madam cj walker, which would have been in the 1900s. She came out with her hair pomade and in conjunction with the um, i'm at a loss for words in conjunction with the actual hair straightening comb, which i do want to make this disclaimer. Madam cj walker did not invent the hair pressing comb. She used it in conjunction with her hair pomade, and that is a misconception, but she did not invent it, but with her hair pomade and the actual hair straightening comb, black women were able to have their hair temporarily straightened for a long for longer or long periods Of time they were able to have a more eurocentral look. They were able to get better paying jobs. They were able to provide for their families. Okay, a little bit, i would say, probably anywhere from 1905 to 1909, a man by the name of garrett, a morgan introduced the relaxer okay, we all know what the relaxer is. A lot of people refer to it now as creamy crack. We all know what it does. We all know what it is, but this was the very first time that african american women, of course back then were able to permanently straighten their hair or again they were allowed to for longer or much longer periods of time straighten their hair again. Euro central look better job, better, get better education, just really a better life all around and, like i said earlier when we started talking about the history, hair, texture, hair grade hair grain, however, you refer to it, it has is a is a very, very, very important Way of how people are being type cast, stereotype characterized and just really how they're living their life okay. For the next 40 years, there are going to be several renditions and iterations of the relaxer. You have johnson and johnson who gets into it. You have um. Is it clairol or is it revlon revlon they get into it a couple of people overseas in europe get into it they're just going to be so many different changes for the next 40 years. Okay, as far as relaxers are concerned, now, let's get into the 1960s when you start talking about the black panthers angela davis, when you start talking about the black movement, when you are supposed to be embracing your blackness you're supposed to be embracing your culture you're supposed To be embracing, you know your hair texture, we all know who angela davis is. We all know who nina simone is. They are synonymous when you start talking about black movement. We start talking about froze and loving yourself for who you are and then in 1973, for the first time ever, cecily tyson was on the cover of jet. This was the very first time in mainstream america, where you saw an african-american woman wearing. I guess you would say an ethnic hairstyle and for me i think that is a really huge milestone, because it shows that in a black woman's natural state or with her hair being in its natural state and in a natural hairstyle, she is still beautiful. Okay, she doesn't have to um confine herself or she doesn't have to live up a beauty standard that was never made or meant to be for her, okay and then shortly thereafter that it was beverly pill who, i believe was on the um. The not was it was cosmopolitan or vogue, okay and then, let's move into the 1990s. When you start getting into the influences of celebrities, tv shows and sitcoms. You have ashley banks from fresh prince. You have hillary, you have hilary banks from fresh prince, you have moisha, you have sister sister, you start getting and i know a lot of people love to talk about poetic dust with janet and her braids. You start getting all different types of hair, textures hairstyles and you just start seeing black women with their hair in different different ways, whether it be relaxed, whether it be a fro, whether it be curls, whether it be 4b or 3a or 4c. This is when you really start to see in mainstream media that black women are being represented as they are okay, so when did, i would say, when did natural, hair or good hair go from a survival method to a vanity thing, i would probably say not necessarily In the 2000s or 2010s or i could - i guess i guess i would say that, because the next milestone that it would be you're going to start to see when it comes to michelle obama, you're going to start to see like this resurgence of young black women. Starting to go natural um, i know i think it was like in the 1990s, i wanted to say alec who, if you're in fashion you know she is this tall, glamazonable woman. She was walking down the runway. I believe it was jean-paul gaultier and she just kind of takes her wig off and just kind of flicks it. Then you have viola davis, who was on the red carpet, and people were mad at her because she looked so glamorous from here down because she chose to wear her natural hair. I think she looked absolutely gorgeous, so i would say for me the vanity metric came in, i would say, maybe early 2000s. I would say this is probably when we started really getting into this whole thing about good hair when it came to a beauty, metric of vanity metric and the actual texture and grade of your hair. Okay, and, like i said, we introduced michelle obama in the 2010s. There was a comment that was made. I believe it was a uk woman. Of course she was african-american. I don't remember what her field or where area of expertise is, but she was just talking about again, good hair being black and being a black woman who was natural, and she made a comment that if michelle obama was natural prior to barack obama's, i guess um Presidency, he wouldn't have won, he would not have won. You will see that once they actually left the white house that she began to as much with her fashion as well. She began to kind of step outside of this box and you will see her wearing her natural hair a little bit more or you were seeing her. You will see her wear in more of his little bit of a natural texture. Okay, we are all fully aware that michelle obama is relaxed, but i think that that comment kind of still goes to where we are in society today, and i would have to agree with that um. But i think there are two sides to that, though i will say this. I think that if michelle obama was natural and she kept her hair pulled back, i don't think it would have affected his um ability to be elected as president. I think, however, if she wore maybe like dreadlocks or braids or if she chose to wear her natural hair out as the first lady. I don't think that would have been um, appreciated or very welcomed. So i think, depending on how she styled her natural hair, would have determined whether or not barack obama would have won the election, which again, like i said, is a very telling a very telling sign of where we are in society today: okay, um. As far as where i think we are and where i think we're going, if you look at bet today, you have sisters or sisters, i think there's one that has a shaved head. I think one wears weave because i don't watch the show, but i have seen a couple of commercials, so i think one has a shaved head. I think a couple are natural. I think one wears weave, but you see and then they all they're also different complexions. As well, which i, which i definitely appreciate - and i think i don't watch the show um for several reasons, but i love the fact that they are showing black women of all complexions and with all different types of hair, whether it be relaxed, whether it be natural. Whether she be transitioning, i love the fact that it's being represented, and i also love the fact that within that show, although from what i understand a lot of it is very dramatic. I love the fact that most of the women on the show are dealing with black men relationship, wise intimacy watts and the reason why i'm saying that is because a young black woman growing up who has natural hair. She needs to see that her copart, being a black man, appreciates values and finds her beautiful. The way that she is, i don't have a problem with them, bringing in a white man for one of them to deal with and really in any day life. I don't have a problem with that, but i'm speaking solely about the representation and black men actually being attracted to, or at least having a show like that. Okay, there are several other shows. I know there's one on hbo. I can't think of the name right now. I think it's called rise up or we rise. They have the same thing going on. It kind of puts me in the mindset of girlfriends. If you don't know that is one of my favorite shows, i could watch girlfriends forever. Okay, i really want them to kind of just do like where they are now. That'S not a part of this video, but i absolutely love girlfriends for the same reasons. I know that david and i are currently watching the shy. They have again all different types of complexions on there they have all different types of hairstyles on there. I really appreciate that whether it be again relaxed natural wigs, i love that you also have um what i say the shy you also have bmf. You also have all of the um. What is it all of the um episodes and different uh, not renditions, but different parts of the whole power? You see all of this in the media. You have janelle monae. If you don't know, i'm obsessed with her hair, you have lupita nuongo, you have sanae lathan, you have. I wanted to call her joan carroll clayton, but you have tracee ellis ross. You have so many different women in hollywood, influencers youtubers women, you know who are not on youtube, but you just see them walking in everyday life. You have so many women who are embracing their natural hair. You have so many women, or you have so many people in these women women's lives who are giving them compliments who are loving on them. So i think the representation is there. However, this is what i want to say to you know where we are where we have to go and how i think it's going to be fixed. Okay, if we as a people, if we as the black community, do not embrace respect uplift, our own women, we cannot expect other races and other people to do that or to follow suit. It starts within, and it's really as simple as that. You'Re always going to have people who who are going to make the comments you're always going to have people who are going to shun. You you're always going to have people who are going to make fun, but collectively we have to make sure that it starts within it starts at home. It starts with the comments that you make. It starts with the representation. If you are a producer of a show, make sure that you are showing all of it like, i said before, relaxed women, i don't have a problem with that. If that's how you want to wear your hair, if that's, what makes you feel beautiful, that's absolutely fine! My problem is, and always will be, for the women who are always constantly being talked down on, who are always being pressured that they feel like they have to do it to have this better life and that's really a misconception. But just i think, what's going to get us further, is to have conversations like this and if someone makes a comment or if someone is doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable tell them. Why - and you know, give them maybe a better way to say that or just tell them you know that's inappropriate. It'S really disrespectful. Just don't say it at all, but if we don't start the healing within, if we don't start the conversations within, we cannot expect another community to respect uplift and embrace our own culture, our own hair and our own textures. Okay, i didn't want this video to be too long. I think we are teeter-tottering on 40 to 45 minutes. As i have said before, i have really enjoyed doing this. Um hair talk episode in the comments. Let'S start a conversation and, like i said before, i truly appreciate you guys keeping it respectful in the comments. I know we're not always going to agree, but i appreciate you guys keeping the comments respectful um in the comments section. So i just want to remind you that here on youtube, i do upload videos every wednesday and sunday and then, of course, you know right here, i'll put my instagram handle. Thank you so much for hanging out with me. You guys thank you so much for um, reposting, re-sharing and supporting this hair talk. I know some of these conversations have been uncomfortable, which i'm pretty sure like i said before, there are going to be some people in the comments who don't agree and that's fine. But at the same time, though, i have really enjoyed doing this and i don't know maybe five years from now, i will do a documentary and dive really really really deep. So i feel as though, but i can do the whole good hair subject some justice, okay, but thank you so much for hanging out with me. You guys bye,