Coils & Curls Blog

Friends,
On November 1, 2007, I will be facilitating a book club discussion on the following book:

Caucasia (by Danzy Senna)
Amazon.com Review: A young girl learns some difficult lessons in Danzy Senna’s debut novel Caucasia. Growing up in a biracial family in 1970s Boston, Birdie has seen her family disintegrate due to the increasing racial tensions. Her father and older sister move to Brazil, where they hope to find true racial equality, while Birdie and her mother drift through the country, eventually adopting new identities (Sheila and Jesse Goldman) and settling in a small New Hampshire town.
Birdie/Jesse tries to find her niche in this new world of eye shadow and gossip and boys, but she also wants to remain true to herself and find a common ground between her white and black heritage. She sets out to find her sister and reconnect with that part of her that has been lost for so long; the search takes her far from the settled, safe life she had in New Hampshire to a far more ambiguous, and unsettled, existence, one in which her own definitions of herself become muddled, and her search for her sister leads ultimately to a search for her own true identity.

I was asked by the YWCA of Boulder, CO to come in as a guest facilitator and help discussion around this book club read in the theme of “Race in America”. The goal of the YWCA is to help end all racism in America and a diverse book club is one of the steps that they are taking to open eyes and opinions. The group is made up of predominately white women, which is understandable because that is the primary population of Boulder, CO. So, I am glad they are making these steps and I am happy to support the effort.

I doubt, however, that they are ready for what I am bringing to the table. ☺

After discussion with a few of the board members, the language about the primary biracial character in this book is around her black DNA… not her white DNA. So, I am bringing the fullness of her background to the forefront … with passion!

What are your thoughts?

For those of you in CO, please come and support the effort.
Details: Thursday, November 1st from 5:30 - 7:00 pm at the Boulder Public Library Arapahoe meeting room. Food will be provided.

This is a must see… I found myself dancing along with a bird!
What about you?
Check it out

Many of you many have heard about this… but let’s start the discussion:

Please view this newscast and then let me know what you think about the term “nappy-head” being used this way.

I am on the Oprah Show e-list, which means, every morning I receive an email about her upcoming shows. The other morning, I opened my email to find the attached show announcement:

“10/12/07 FRIDAY’S SHOW: Transgender Families
Meet transgender individuals who had the courage to say “this is who I am.” Find out what happens in a family when dad becomes a woman. A discussion with the new American family Oprah wanted to meet.”

The reason why this hit me so strongly is due to recent events with my company. As many of you know, Coils & Curls just put on a most AMAZING Natural Hair Celebration! (More on that in another post.) The purpose of this event was to embrace what God gave us… nappy, kinky hair. (See where I am going with this.)

We, in the natural hair movement believe that God made NO mistake when he created us with kinky-textured hair. But after watching the Oprah show, I am left with a question: can we, in one breath say, “Yes, I agree with you, in all of the universe and in the nature on this planet, God made a mistake and you were suppose to be a different sex.” Then in the next breath say, “But God DID NOT make a mistake when it comes to something as external as your nappy hair. You don’t need to perm it and make it something its not. Embrace your natural texture!”

Now, I know that one change costs over $150,000, where as the other change can cost only $35 bucks at your local grocery store. But the core of both issues is succinct. What is the truth? Can God make a mistake on his creation?

Here’s another example: I know of a child who was born black and when she was 5, she said she wished she had been born white. Now, at 15 she says she is a white woman trapped in a black woman’s body. I immediately blamed her parents for not empowering her to be who she is; but where is the Oprah show for her? (Tyra did a show on it.) Maybe I should be looking at it differently. If nature can make a mistake in gender, why couldn’t nature make a mistake in race? If we embrace the belief for one, don’t we have to embrace it for all? My desire is to be consistent.

Now, I know this post is full of bias and you probably already know my opinion on the matter. But I want to hear your thoughts.
Talk to me.