The other day, I posted the dance battle between Jiggaboos and Wannabes from Spike Lee’s classic film School Daze ((here’s the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlxI3-8BVKQ). I am wondering if this scene resonates with you all. Do you think that the tension depicted between Black women (and women in general) still exists?
I am also very concerned about the younger generation (Generation Y or Millenials http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y). According to research, the Millenials are among the most diverse generation in history. As a result, data suggest that issues like race and ethnicity may not play a large of a role in their identity formation. That is, some consider millenials to be post-racial; however, not all agree (http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/DAED_a_00087). What do you think? What would you say to the younger generation about hair and identity?
I would really like to see black women embrace their natural hair texture and see if this post-racial world can love them as they are. If not, it's not truly post-racial. I would also say that you cannot be post-racial until you understand the history of race in our society and given serious thought to how it has shaped our current social structure and dynamics. Never having thought about race doesn't make you post-racial. It just makes you unschooled.
ReplyDeleteVertigo,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your wonderful comments. If I hear one more person say, now that we have a Black president, folks can't complain about racism. Oh my goodness, one man does not change centuries of racism. I am concerned that this post-racial argument will be a distraction and prevent robust discussion of the challenges facing so many folks.