African is more than your hair

Over the years, black people had begun to love themselves more. So much so that we refuse to take racism lying down. We have become conscious of our beauty and are unapologetically proud of our thick lips and dark skins. Even the afro – in its natural state – is making a comeback. Some may prefer weaves and wigs, but others prefer natural hair. It’s all a matter of preference.

Yet, an invisible line has been drawn in the sand, a stigma of sorts. If you adorn weaves and wigs, you cannot possibly love your African beauty. You disguise it with an imitation of white hair and seek to be what western society defines as beautiful and acceptable.

It has been said weaves are a sign of an inferiority complex, that no “self-respecting woman would rather look like they are not of African descent”. That the first way to shake off their African heritage is by implanting Europeanand Asian-inspired hair. Huh? Okay, so being African is in your mane?

Many have said you would never find European women buying an afro to look like an African woman and that an Asian woman would never wear dreadlocks to resemble us. Therefore, the problem of imitation must lie only with African women.

But how wrong can this be? Being African is defined by how we treat each other, not by how we comb, brush and style our hair in the morning.

We do not make our star shine by dimming the shine of others. If we were to display our hair to place us on the global map, others may display it in other ways. It may be by their actions, their speech or their sense of culture. But there is no point in shouting “I am an African” with the most African of hair yet speak not a single word of an African language.

The story of the African child cannot be central to their hair. I refuse to believe that when Europeans head to the tanning salon to darken their skin, they are rejected and judged by their kind.

Black people need to stop with their judgemental behaviour towards each other and accept that hair is simply hair.

Being African is far bigger than our hair.