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... hat they had. Black womens obsessed with the idea of straight hair allowed them to worship Madame CJ Walkers straighten comb that provided black hair with a straighter appearance. Negative societal views of dark African Americans forced blacks to use these products not only for a better appearance, but also for means of survival.
Blacks that were light enough to pass as white were known to gain not only success wished by others, but acceptance in society because they learned to turn their back on their true identity. These light skinned blacks isolated themselves as if they were far better then the other black people. What they failed to do was embrace and uplift those being discriminated against not only by white people but themselves. Although blacks have come a long way, color complexity is still a factor in black peoples lives. Every day, I had to get my eight year old daughter up thirty minutes earlier for school just so I could plait her hair.
Then Lynn wanted to sign up for swimming class, but there was no way I could deal with her hair being wet everyday. I had to tell her she couldnt swim because I didnt have the time to keep washing, drying, and pressing her hair all the time. I thought Lynn would never forgive me for that. When she turned ten, I allowed her to get her hair permed so it would be easier for both her and me. That was eighteen years ago, and Lynn still perms her hair today, as do I. Lynn also just learned how to swim, something that I never did. (Russell Pp. 78) Black women obtain so much glory in how their hair texture is perceived that they rather limit the activities they allow themselves and their children to do, then doing what they wish to do.
Even though black women are now starting to take pride in their black coils, they still long to obtain hair that is straight and long like the girls featured on television and in magazine advertisements. Black music entertainers place light skin beauties with hair rippling down their back in their music videos to attract black males eyes and create black womens idols. Black women now put bone straight weaves in their hair to give an illusion of good hair and they are provided with skin powder or base that lightens their skin and leaves their skin free from all blemishes. Bibliography: Banks and Burkes. , ed. Images In Conflict. New York: Books Merrill Company, 1970.
Page numbers: 22, 31, 42. Call Number: CAC PE 1122. B 347 The book, Images in Conflict, reveals Hollywood as the main carcinogen for blacks negative reflection of beauty. The book tells about how in the 1920 s and 1930 s, the characters Auntie or mammy were shown in every movie that chose to feature the black women. Hollywood's role in the blacks color complex is that they never showed dark skin blacks as being anything less then ugly and below society. Hollywood pinpointed beauty as being a white starlit with hair of gold and hair that is as bouncy as a ball.
Although Hollywood did not come out and say that dark skin females were ugly, their portraying image revealed societies and Hollywood's opinion. Burkes and Banks then describe the Tragic Mulatto. They say the mulatto is tragic because of how he is perceived in society and how he perceives himself. Any attribute that the mulatto does that links to being positive, is linked to the white blood in his veins and anything that is linked to vulgarity or negativity is connected with the black blood that runs through his veins.
Although the mulatto is given a new respect by whites, he denies the blackness that lies throughout his soul and history. This is a good source for my topic because it not only reflects whites as the main cause for the color complex but it also shows the media, Hollywood, as being another factor in the self segregating war of complexions. Brown Liberson L. Black or White. The African Amercian Newspaper. Baltimore: 1997. < web Date access: 4 / 3 / 00 Black or White reflects the low self esteem blacks obtained in the 1920 s.
The web site shows how advertisements forced blacks to think that dark skin was negative and ugly. It actually shows ads that were used to make dark skin women feel inferior to lighter skin women. The French came out with products that promised dark skin blacks lighter skin. The light skin that they wanted to posses could only be received if they used these harsh products on their skin. The products promised dark skin black women white men and stop the humiliation that dark black women receive for being dark. The web site also talked about Madame CJ Walkers invention of the straightening comb because she gave blacks the opportunity to rid themselves of bad hair, a term still widely used today.
The web page also revealed that blacks were so possessed with the idea of being these dead end products killed them because of the toxic chemicals that promised Gatewood, Wilson B. Aristocrats of Color. Indianapolis: Indian University Press, 1990. Pages: 149 181, 241 - 271. Call number: CACE 185. 86. 638 1990 Aristocrats of Color concentrate on the black individuals who were known as the black elite.
The book reflects how that lighter skin individuals separated themselves from the darker individuals. Because of their wealth, respect, and allowed education they were known as the blacks that could actually be successful in life. Because the mulatto's were lighter and had different features, white people were interested at the new race lives and successes. The whites marked them as better and far more educated then dark skin black people. The white opinions on the mix breeds were they were better then dark skin blacks but less equal then whites.
Because the whites had a new opinion about blacks they allowed these blacks to be educated. This source reflects that the white people instilled the color complex within the black race because the lighter skin were given more while the darker skin blacks accepted what they had the opportunity to get. the shedding of their dark skin. The pictures that are used on this web page will be used to aid me in my presentation of my topic. Hall, Russell K. , and Midge Wilson. The Color Complex.
Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace Joanovich Publishers, 1992. Pages: 9 - 53, 24 - 40, 41 61, 62 80, 81 93, 135 162. Call number: SC 185. 625. R 78 1992 The Color Complex is a book that brings blacks and the differences of color to light. The book features reflections on the famous director Spike Lees movie School Daze. The book discusses if blacks think that the color complexities of the past have vanished, then Spike Lee would not be shunned for putting blacks "dirty laundry in the media.
The source also compares and describes the medias images of beauty among the black race. The book reflects the ratio of dark skin women to light skin women in black music videos and black movies. This book also shares the schools, organizations, and living areas that were designated for the black elite. This was a very interesting book and I will defiantly use this as one of the main sources in my paper. The Color Complex reveals black and light complexions as well as the pride that each complexion hold. help me with my visuals in my presentation and my paper Hare, Nathan.
The Black Anglo-Saxons. New York: Macmillan Company, 1965. Pages 11 - 31. Call number: SC E 185. 86. H 3 1970 The book, The Black Anglo Saxons, reflected how now it is fashionable to be proud about being black.
The black hair and clothing that blacks once hid behind and tried to avoid are now becoming more prevalent. The book describes black power as the source of this change. Now the once boasting light skin blacks wont even admit that they have white blood running through their veins. Dr. Nathan Hare claims that the black middle-class, otherwise known as the black elite, were not only miseducate d but they were misguided and deceived by the whites that forced them to assimilate away from their African culture. The black elite disavowed and ignored their other brothers and sisters.
This source will be good for my research paper because it hits on the key points I am discussing: how the white race provided blacks with the ignorance that with held the color complex. Hooks, Bell. Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1992. Pages: 9 20. Call number: SCE 185. 86.
H 734 1992. In Bell Hooks, Black Looks: Race and Representation, she remembers a discussion she once had with some students in her English class. Bell Hooks first refers to a story about how a black woman named Clare pretended she was white her whole life because she was so light. The black woman married a white man but was unhappy with her life because she had never been her true self. Hooks tells her class that Clare had to pretend she was white because she was living in a white supremacist culture. When white people discovered that Clare was black she was murdered.
Hooks describes to her mostly black populated class that just as whites were taught to devalue blackness and overvalue whiteness black people of every shade were also taught the same. Hooks explains that if blacks were taught to love blackness self segregation would vanish. This is an excellent source for my paper because it not only gives solutions to end self segregation, but it also gives an example (Clare) I could use in my research paper. Jewell, Sue.
From Mammy to Miss: Cultural Images and the Shaping of Us Social Policy. New York: Routledge and Chapman Hall Inc, 1993. Pages: 1 - 14, 15 - 34 Call number: E 185. 86. J 48 1992. Sue Jewell talks about the changing images of beauty black women have under gone. First the book introduces the typical stereotypical images black women were perceived as.
The dark face, the big body, big lips, and the ignorant and surprised look featured on the mammies face. The book tells how black women were never looked as a source of beauty until recently. The difference is that it is not the dark woman who is featured as beautiful, but the light women with the good hair. The book foreshadows the black women transformation into a sexual deity of light skin and long hair, this being the new ultimate desire and wish for ex mammy's. The new light women are the dark black womens dream. Russell, and Wilson M.
Divided Sisters. New York: Anchor Books Doubleday, 1996. Pages: 71 - 110. Call number: SCE 185. 86. W 555 1996. Divided Sisters is a book that acknowledges the difference between the black women, the lighter women, and the white women.
From a historical angle the book talks about black women and their texture and style of hair that was linked to skin color. The mulatto or the elite middle class that was influenced by the white society set black womens standard of beauty. Because white peoples influence was so strong darker skin blacks thought that it was a gift to have the long hair and the light skin because these specific individuals lives were easier because they were accepted and looked up to. The book entails examples of how girls with kinky hair limited their activities because they did not want the public to see the true texture of their hair. Furthermore, the book shares how when young black girls could shed their hair of coils and apply the newly introduced perm it was like turning the ugly duckling into a swan. The book also reflected that the differences of skin color did not just happen after the Emancipation Proclamation but also in Africa.
Some tribes associated femininity, youth, and virginity with light skin and long hair.
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Research essay sample on Black Or White Anglo Saxons
