When Obama won I was worried that it would make it seem as if there was no racism in our country. "Obama did it. What’s your excuse?"; you know the pull yourself up by the bootstrap theory. I was also worried that people would put so much stock in him, that if he came up short there would be an 'I told you so' scenario. The fact of the matter is racism is real. The glass ceiling may have been broken for a few, but for most it’s still pretty solid.
Well I see now that I don’t have to worry about people thinking racism is gone. If anything the Obama’s being in the White House has shown this country for what it is. There have been so many racist comments directed towards Obama I wouldn’t have room to list them here. But the worse things I have heard were the recent comments directed towards his daughter Malia. I won’t say them here but if you want to read some of them read this article in Vancouver sun.
It has been said that these comments were initated as a reaction to Malia’s hair. It is quite sad that an eleven- year- olds hair style spurred such racist comments; but I cannot say I’m shocked, after all this is America. She was rocking two strand twists, a style I happen to love. In fact, I love love love the that the girls still have their natural hair. I cringe when ever I see little girls with perms; the damage to their hair, the damage to their sense of self (Allhumdulliah, that’s one argument I won’t have to have with my child’s father. We agree that creamy crack is wack). As Assatta Shakur said "When you go through all your life processing and abusing your hair so it will look like the hair of another race of people, then you are making a statement and the statement is clear." More manageable smanagble, it’s a reflection of self-hate. A reflection of society’s standard of beauty.
I know hair should be hair, but it’s not. Hair is sometimes superficial and always political. Why? Because it’s an outside representation of self. The problem with Malia’s hair was not that it was in twists, but that it stood in contrast to the image of “the girl next door”. Although it didn’t shout Black Power like the afro, it said "I’m not blond, I’m Black and I’m proud." The Obama’s in the White House took the cake and the girls’ staying natural was the icing. For the racist at the Free Republic that was just too sweet to eat. I, however have a sweet tooth.
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