Black Consciousness Day

Due to my mother's influence, I have always had chemical hair procedures since I was a little girl, because most of us are born with the concept that black hair is bad, hard and ugly. At the age of 9 I was already straightening my hair and suffered with scalp sores and chemical cuts, but I never gave up the dream of having long straight hair.

Throughout my childhood I always heard that, besides having bad hair, my nose was too big and wide like a potato, that my mouth was too big. I never liked what I saw in the mirror. It was difficult to take the initiative to make friends in childhood, because I didn't feel comfortable and secure with myself. I thought I would always be rejected or made fun of in small groups.

We can be engulfed by social media in very negative ways, while it can also help us, provided we use it wisely. Representativeness in the media is very important in all social segments, we can feel welcomed, represented and encouraged by our peers. In 2015, I started following more profiles of black women in my networks, but this happened naturally. The admiration for their strong and unique personalities was growing. I started my incessant research about hair transition, once I was tired of straightening my hair for so long, and every month spending R$100.00 in something that did not bring me any benefit, on the contrary, it made me dependent, it was like a drug. After much thought I decided that I would stop straightening my hair and leave my hair natural. I was excited to see how it would look like, because I couldn't even remember what my real hair looked like.

The transition was extremely difficult. It made me frustrated dealing with two hair textures. But at the same time, I started to take care of it with love, doing self-care rituals. After 5 months, I cut the part with chemistry, which left me with 3 fingers of hair, the famous johnson cut. The crossed glances in the street, at home, among friends, were inevitable. Few supported my decision, some spared any comments, others not.

The months went by and I was discovering myself, accepting myself, loving myself, getting to know myself. I realized that the transition was extremely important for me to see myself as I really am, as a black woman. It awakened my interest in getting to know my roots, and from that I also created new passions. I started going to events and fairs related to Afro culture; I learned how to braid my hair by myself; I discovered my love for samba rock and gafieira; I saw the world the way it is: as much as blacks are in a large majority in the Brazilian population, it is very difficult to see them in important and significant positions, it is rare to see blacks in work environments where I am inserted, as it was in school, college, circles of friends... It is rare to see blacks in big advertisements, TV shows, or in soap opera roles that are not maids, chauffeurs of the rich family, bandits or drug dealers.

Being aware of these facts, I started to encourage and prioritize black entrepreneurs in the market, because a graduated black man, who owns himself and owns his own business, is revolutionary. I am proud of never having heard the opinions against my hair transition, because I probably wouldn't be aware of any of this today.

What can I conclude from all this?

Well, we all go through difficult moments that are extremely necessary for our maturation. This awakening came from a physical dissatisfaction, but it changed a whole model of thinking and life. My appeal is that you, parents of black children or not, teach your children to love themselves from head to toe, just the way they are; that you teach them to respect and live with the differences, because a word said can erode the self-esteem of a child and have behavioral residues until adulthood; teach them to be strong and not to be shaken by any cross word or look; that besides being aware of who they are, they should be proud of who they are.

Yes, we can transform this cruel world with small acts. We need to pay attention daily to the ideas and values that we consume and absorb, and also to what we communicate. Do you have any dimension of how serious it is, people dying because of the color of their skin? And yet, to be repressed or silenced for claiming what is rightfully theirs? I invite us to work a little bit every day in order to become more evolved, sensible, and conscious people.

Happy Black Consciousness Day!

Juliana Cristina