Umihair

Growing up in a suburban, metro Atlanta neighborhood has its pros and cons. It is advantageous being in close proximity to downtown Atlanta and being able to immerse myself in the Atlanta hip-hop and R&B community. However, there are some aspects where--being an African-American female--I have to be confronted with few biases. One of those biases are biases that has to deal with my hair. Personally, I generally like to wear natural styles or braids. Although my neighborhood is racially diverse, sometimes it I am still self-conscious. In order to “be a good fit” in mainstream white society, black women are advised (sometimes felt to be forced) to alter our natural texture to become “presentable,” which can mean high-priced, high-maintenance extensions. African American hair has so much diversity and flexibility, throughout many years of oppression and hardships, they have chosen to alter their natural texture to fit into “white” standards of beauty. Often feeling the pressures to fit in, many of these people will purposely damage and harm themselves with chemicals. It is important that the millions of women who live their lives solely based on outward appearances know that it is normal to want to feel accepted, but doing so at the sake of your health is not worth it. Traditionally, African American hair has and still is the subject of criticism. The constant criticism is not only racially insensitive, it leaves millions of young girls and women feeling self-conscious about the way they were born into the world. Hair is one of the most important aspects of beauty culture, in past and present African nations. In 15th century African Culture Hair could have been used to indicate if a person was married, their age, religion, wealth and even if they were preparing for war. They believed that the higher your hair was the closer to God you were. Knowing the complexity of this mindset and in an effort to dehumanize and crush their spirits, the Europeans shaved their head upon boarding the slave ship, losing their identity. During enslavement, the slaves were expected to uphold the slave master’s standard of beauty. Most commonly they would use pressing combs, wigs, and chemically relax their hair to imitate “European features.” Many African American women and young girls to this day have problems with racial identity. Even as young children, there are pressures that an African American girl is burdened with, yet one of the main one is the pressure to have ‘good’ hair. The desire to be accepted is a universal feeling. The easiest way for a black woman to gain social acceptance is to straighten their hair. In North America, straight hair is seen as the norm, and somewhat needed to secure employment for African American women. Beginning in 1987, a plethora of complaints and cases were filed of African American women who got reprimanded or fired for wearing cornrows, a natural hairstyle. The case that gained massive publicity was of Pamela Walker, a full-time teacher and student at the University of Illinois. They fired her because of her “extreme, cornrowed hair”. In April 2014, the United States Army sparked controversy when it made changes to its hair policies. Most of the new rules were racially biased and culturally insensitive to black women in the armed forces. Twists, headbands, dreadlocks, and cornrows (all being protective styles) were now banned. After months of backlash, the Army revoked the regulations and changed them with new ones, which continued to hold a stigma on African-American hair. Instead of aiding to the needs of these women, and becoming informed of their preferred protective hairstyles, they tried to white-wash these hairstyles with a lack of compassion and regard for hair practices. Young black girls of today will research these cases and complaints and may have identity issues. They may grow to hate their hair and chemically damage it, just so they may be able to appear “sophisticated” and not be a victim of insensitivity. Recently the natural hair movement has gained a great deal of popularity. It seeks out to challenge the European standard of beauty and to give African Americans or women of all ethnicities a chance to claim something of their own, teaching women to identify their hair, love their textures, and how to manage their hair”. This type of management is much safer than chemically altering (and ultimately damaging) their hair. On social media, there are many people who share their experiences and knowledge to the world, creating a safe and welcoming environment where anyone can safely experiment and try practices never known beforehand. No matter where we are located and where we go in America, it is difficult to escape from the dominant European standard of beauty. But as time passes, many black women are finding that their perceptions of beauty and sense of self change also. Racial identity and self confidence will continue to improve with time and dedication, as African-American women continue to love themselves and their natural hair, continuing to stomp on any biases set against them. Medical Malpractice Help Community Service Scholarship “What motivates you to perform community service?” Community service is a broad topic that encompasses a vast number of differing thoughts, opinions, definitions, and actions. Growing up, I was never big on community service; it was something I never made time for. However, as I have ventured through high school, my perspective on community service has changed substantially. I realized that community service does not always have to be as cliche as volunteering at a food bank or helping the homeless. It is as simple as doing anything to better the lives of people whom may have more disadvantages that we do. That is when community service started to become more of a motivating factor. Volunteering has allowed my self-confidence to increase and for me to gain skills I would never think I could acquire. Being a captain on my school softball team and my travel team introduced me to a different set of challenges and responsibilities. One of those responsibilities was to organize a community service project, so we partnered with the Boys and Girls Club. While there, we were able to mentor and teach kids different sports, their importance, and how sports can open new doors and opportunities. Participating in community service allows me to serve people who could go down the wrong paths in life or help them if they were on a bad path beforehand. Being able to help those who are less fortunate move me to be more grateful for the blessings and opportunities I was able to take advantage of because many people do not have those. When serving others, it gives me the declaration I need to know that I have the power to make a change. Anything that has changed in history has to start with someone. Most of the change that has been brought upon my high school has started with me by either organizing or leading it. In my first year as president in our DECA chapter, I chose to focus more on upbringing the change that was coming once I graduated. I put my time into three underclassmen who have done insurmountable and history-making things and achieved much more than I could have. Although many regard me as the beginning of our “DECA dynasty,” it would not be possible if the current generation did not see their power within to service the next generation. We need to continue to be beacons of light in this cold world around us. One thing we must continue to hold true while performing community service is to not tokenize the people we are serving. They are human beings also and are simply not in a capacity to be a server at the moment. Remembering to count all of my blessings, realizing the power I possess, and helping those who cannot help themselves are three of the many reasons why I choose to serve in the community. If we have a mindset (similar to my earlier self) of questioning why we should serve, we must continue to ask ourselves, “If I was in this situation, would I want this kind gesture too?” More info about hair extensions visit here