What We Do DOES Make A Difference!

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Sheryl Underwood said something crazy on national television.

Nikki Minage is showing her ‘real hair’ on Instagram.

White women are trying black styles for art and photos.

Girls are in the middle of Central Park allowing random folks to touch their hair.

Schools are sending kids home because they have dreadlocks.

Beyonce did not comb Blue Ivy’s hair… again.

You have to love the hair community; we go hard with the shenanigans, controversial topics and stories of people that need our support.

I think the thing I admire most about this whole movement for lack of a better term is that we have claimed a sense of pride about our hair, and about who we are as a people.

I know that sounds very ‘Al Sharptony’ but there is value in the voice, and by voice I mean, blogs, twitter posts, instagram pictures, video opinions and Facebook posts, whatever platform you might use to share your thoughts and talents.

And this doesn’t apply just to the people producing content, it also goes for you reading and sharing the content. If I could pen an open letter to the media bloggers and readers alike, this is what I would say:

[Begin open letter]

Recognize the power of your platform

One of the best effects of having media platforms that allow for mass interaction is the fact that we have single-handedly kept individuals with bad behavior accountable.

If you choose to tweet your feelings of disdain because Wendy Williams said that “natural hair doesn’t belong on the red carpet”, your tweet along with many others will become a big enough voice that will actually cause the talk show host to be quiet for one second and listen for fear of losing her fan base.

Not only are celebs, who we once thought to be untouchable, listening to us, but our community organizations including schools with disparaging rules have been forced to listen and change their rules as well.

With that said, what we do does make an impact so we have to tread carefully with our new found power.

Protect the children even the celebrity ones

There is power in numbers that is the un-official scientific law of society and of course politics. As bloggers and vloggers we can now command a lot of attention based on what we post and what people say about what we post.

The attention we receive will allow us bragging rights, monetary compensation or popularity but that’s not all.

Even though we have the freedom to say what we want we still have a social responsibility to remain diligent in not perpetuating negativity about any child even if the child is considered a celebrity.

The best example of this is little Blue Ivy Carter who, before she is even old enough to create a full sentence, is being chastised in the public eye for the way her parents choose to care for her hair.

Comparatively we have had great success speaking candidly about the little girl turned away from her school because of her choice in hair style; we supported her and her parents, made attempts at boosting her confidence and lending our support to the changes that need to happen at her school.

There is clearly a difference between these two children but when we show support it should be across the board despite issues of class or money. As bloggers if we have a post that consistently attracts negativity, it makes sense to heavily moderate or close commenting in the post.

In an effort not to say too much about what is said, there should be some discretion when we post pictures of children and when we comment on pictures about children.

Teach most times

This is mostly geared towards our media creators who might be surprised at how beneficial something that you know can help someone else, we know that gossip sells but knowledge is what people instinctively want.

Never think that what you know is too small to impact someone’s life. A YouTube video demonstrating an easy way to wash your brushes and combs, or showing your winter hair routine, or just how to organize your hair products at home are sometimes the most popular on YouTube because they are practical and everybody has the same problem you happen to be addressing.

Know your worth

Much like the fact that if you strip your clothes off in your first movie, that action might just define the rest of your career, so is much of what you put online.

If you are that girl on Facebook consistently calling foul on pictures that are geared towards inspiration, you know the type that always likes to add just a little bit of ink to a clear glass of water; that reputation becomes just that, a reputation!

If you really are not that type of person but the internet is your playground just know that for some people much of what you say is taken very seriously and at face value.

Prospective employers have been known to eject a candidate from the running just from what they think are negative interactions online.

On the flip side of things if you create media and people start to listen to what you have to say, not only is the young girl who wishes she had hair like you watching, but businesses are watching too.

Don’t sell out by selling false reviews if you have never used the product, stay true to yourself and what made you get online in the first place.

If healthy natural organic products are your thing, why confuse your audience by supporting a product or service that clearly is not healthy because the manufacturers offered you a payday.

Keep the community going strong 

Whether you are relaxed or natural the best part of this whole blogosphere thing are the people we meet and the interactions and impact that we have. Some people have become great friends just from connections based on hair care and yet somehow what we do seems bigger than hair sometimes.

We know of 3 schools so far that have been forced to change their policies that were targeting natural hair in a negative way, we also reach everyday women who are learning and sharing ideas about healthy hair.

We have noticed the huge success of many blogs and vloggers who have made a business of hair, their business, we have gotten apologies from celebrities when there has been ‘bad behavior’ and we have found the confidence to celebrate our natural hair that for some has been looked down upon for years.

Let us keep the community going strong by acting responsibly, defending our children and staying true to ourselves. As content producers and readers, what we do here does make a difference!

[End open letter]