BLACK BEAUTY
Little Black girl, they laughed at you
and called you black
tar black
but you smile
cause you won't give them the skin
off your back
Little Black girl
they called your hair
kinky and nappy
but with your own hair
you're content and happy
Little Black girl they said
your nose was too wide
but you never pay any mind
to what's on the outside
Cause this little black girl
is proud of what she is
and she won't budge, sell out,
compromise, or give in
This little girl is growing into a
Black woman
concerned with nothing less
than the betterment of her race
and she has much
more on to think
about than
the features of her face.Latosha Renee Guy, age 18
* * *
There are numerous "Black Beauties" who are finding pride in themselves as girls, and as a race of people that for too long have been treated like second class citizens. They are exploring, and immersing themselves in, the beauty and strength of their heritage, as well as creating new cultural forms of expression.
Rap is one such form. It is a way of telling truths, speaking out, instigating awareness and embracing community; of fighting oppression and overthrowing traditional beliefs.
In studies done by Carol Gilligan and Lyn Mikel Brown, professors at Harvard University Graduate School of Education and pioneers in the study of the development of adolescent girls, they found that African-American teenage girls had more self-confidence than those of other races. This was partially credited to black mothers being competent and strong role models. Gilligan and Brown found that increased self-esteem was the result of women teaching their daughters that racism is the product of other people's negative attitudes and ignorance, and not a reflection of the child as a person.
I found many daughters who claimed to have been instilled with pride by their mothers early on. T. Love is only one example.
Even those like Stephanie Williams, whose mother was busy with her own struggles, have been able to turn what appeared to be a negative situation into a positive one, culling up a sense of determination and strength in themselves.
Stephanie writes:
"...With such a weight upon my young shoulders I was unable to enjoy what was supposed to be my childhood. I have seen things no 'child' should see. I have heard things no 'child' should hear. Yet with all that my mother's lifestyle has taken from me, I am still able to thank her.
Without her anger, I wouldn't know how to suppress my own. Without her raunchy language, I'd have no ideas on how to speak. Without her silence, I would never be able to enjoy my own thoughts and feelings and share them with those who are worthy.
More than anything, without my mother's struggle, I wouldn't have grown on to be the strong, intelligent, woman I am today."
* * *
Rainen Veal is a quiet and shy girl with strong feelings and brave insights. An excerpt from her piece on the leaders of the struggle against racial inequality is particularly inspiring because Rainen is only 14 years old.
I CAN, I AM, AND I'LL TRY TO BE... BLACK
I can only be free because of you
I can only be strong because you were
I can only run my fastest because you did
I can only be heard because you said I could
I can see as far as the mountains go
I can hear your voice telling me yes or no
But I can only be proud because I am black.
I am worthy of doing anything I have my mind set
I'm as smart as I want to be; only I can stop my world
I am perfect only by the sayings of others
I am skilled and taught well by his books
I am of the darkest skin and I'll tell you I love it
I am also charged by your great achievements
But I am proud to be African. An African Queen.
* * *
These girls demand respect and will not tolerate being dissed by anyone -- even their own brothers who often portray women negatively through their raps. Rainen attacks the degradation of women, in her piece entitled WOMAN OF DISTINCTION:
Bitch!
Am I that dog, that you men eat?
To wear my shorts high and walk the night's street.
To wear my shorts high, my hair fake.
To disrespect a female of your own race....
To call her a trick, tramp, or skanch.
As for the mother that conceived you; the same.
Would you call a Queen a ho?
For I am a Nubian Princess and my mother is a Queen.
We are educated Black women.
Yes, I am considered; for I can hold my head high.
For I can fly high. Higher than a bird in the sky.
For I have bent my back, and spread my legs too long
for a white man.
So when you say bitch, skeeza, ho, trick, or skanch
I will not turn my head.
For I am a woman of DISTINCTION.
* * *
These 'sistas' have triumphed over not just the insecurities of teenage years, but also over the added judgments by ignorant people who do not see race as "human race," and impose their own fears and biases onto anyone unlike themselves.
In her rap, A MOST PRIZED POSSESSION, Latosha celebrates young, black womanhood:
onyx, mahogany, hazelnut brown
sistas
the most beautiful creatures around
our beauty transcends all on earth
neither gold nor silver surpass our worth
we pray, struggle yet survive
drops of grace fall from our brow
and through the perils and frustration
we survive and manage to get ahead somehow
our strength wisdom tenacity
it all comes from within
from the melanin that makes us unique
and varies the color of our skin
onyx, mahogany, hazelnut brown
sistas
the most beautiful creatures around
