...And Beauty

I have noticed a trend in magazines, television, and the internet that keeps women conscious of themselves. I’m not talking conscious about their thinking processes or conscious about how they conduct themselves, but conscious about the pursuit of beauty. Every popular magazine contains a Health and Beauty, Lifestyle and Beauty, or Fashion and Beauty section. On television, there are tons of commercials that advertise quick weight loss programs and the internet advertises for plastic surgery and magic colon flushing pills. We are being sold the idea of beauty everyday and the results are becoming redundant. Us girls run out to the mall for the latest trends, spend mounds of money on makeup, and even obsess over diet and exercise, all in the name of beauty. Some of us can’t stand the sight of ourselves without a “full face” of makeup or a fresh hair style. I can attest to this notion because I attend a school where fashion and beauty are imperative to the college life experience. Trendy clothing gives one status and respect on our campus, while a toned down dress code gets you overlooked.
My take on the situation is, over time, as we consume these things it starts to move into our subconscious. Even if we are not the type to obsess over our appearance, the constant perpetuations of the idea of beauty will make one opt to buy a tube of lip gloss over a sandwich for lunch. Especially amongst young women, the hunger for attention from men can also drive a girl to skip dinner in hopes to lose a few inches from around her waist. And it may seem like everyday occurrences, like, girls are going to be girls, but I think that it goes deeper than that. Girls do not love themselves the same. Self love is being overshadowed with platform pumps and glitter mascara. Now-a-days you do not have to work on building your self esteem because girls think that it can be bought. They may feel that the new military blazer or chandelier earrings will make them more susceptible to their peers and so the sense of self is lost in the sea insecurities and replaced by material possessions. Possessions used to douse feelings of inferiority that eventually go out of style. Women need to understand that self love makes the woman. Faulty weight loss programs and expensive jeans will not soothe embarrassment or humiliation but a strong sense of self will. It will not go out of style and the only cost is one’s time. Time to evaluate themselves and learn to love who they are.

Dark Past

…”And he ends with an affirmation of his belief that the history of slavery is a shared legacy. Blacks and whites, Africans and Americans, are forever linked by the burdens of this past; together they must challenge history's destructive silences.” This is a quote by Drew Gilpin Faust, a writer for the New York Times on the web. Faust wrote an article on Edward Ball’s book “Slaves in the Family.” This book chronicles the quest of Ball reconnecting with the truths of his family’s dark past and seeks to offer peace with the people his family affected. You see, Ball’s family had a very lucrative slave operation in South Carolina that spans 400 years. Ball’s intention was to unearth the genealogy of his family (and their festivities) primarily, to find out more about him. Before his adventure began, he had come to the realization that like the other ethnic minorities in the U.S., whites have the right to culture as well. I mean can you blame him? His own descendents formed together to manipulate world systems and systematically disenfranchise anything not boasting the white race. In lieu of the fact that most of those descendents decided to abandon their cultural distinctions to “fit in,” some white folk feel of sense of uncertainty about themselves. They want to identify too, I guess being the majority and dominating everything about American Life is not “in” anymore.
Anyhow, there was not much on the internet about Ball other than sites advertising his book, that it until I came across Faust’s article. Faust paints the picture of a man in pursuit of forgiveness for his family’s actions. He points out that Ball wants it to be known that he cannot be totally accountable for his family’s past because there was no way he could influence their actions, the deeds have already been done. Faust (and pop perspectives) also points out that Ball’s family insisted that they were kind slave masters but he produced records sexual violence, mutilation, and hangings. Right. So, Faust goes on to tell the tale of Ball traveling the country and the continent of Africa to speak to the descendents of his family’s slaves. Of course, he runs into some rejection but he reports many cases of welcoming Black folk, lighter skin, and giggling and chuckling. Anyway, he also unearths some business about possible love connections between slave women and his forefathers, again, Right.
Now to my analysis, I feel like this man has some nerve to unearth years of pain, humiliation, and God knows what else, in HIS quest to find HIMSELF. For what? Only to offer your apologies, what can your apology do for 20th year descendents of slave relatives, other than rehash or introduce battle scars? I think Ball’s research is irrelevant, to the families he’s reaching out to at least.

Pop Perspectives 120-24
Link to article Skeletons in the Family Closet
http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/01/reviews/980301.01faustt.html

Afro Colombian Mural

The Afro Latin mural was breathtaking. The colors were vibrant and every inch of the painting had immense meaning. The Afro-Colombian mural was completed in 2009 by Joel Bergner who is an award winning mural artist. Joel did research on the Afro-Colombian community by gathering information from Afro Colombians in the Washington, DC area! He was also able to gain the support of the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities for funding. Brightly splashed across many walls, Bergners’ murals can be seen in many cities. Most of them are located in the metropolitan area of DC and Maryland, but others can be found in San Francisco, Mexico and Brazil.

While I don’t know much about the Colombian culture or its people’s history, the mural gave me some insight. The color of the people’s skin was most magnifying. The fact that their skin was of a darker pigmentation confirms that they are a people of the African Diaspora. Also, on the right side of the mural, you could see that the lives of Colombians were vibrant and full of life. Children were playing, music was playing, and adults were having a good time. The country was illuminated by the rays of the sun, the trees were beautiful, flowers were out in full bloom, and the aura was festive.

In opposition, the left side of the mural told a different story. Fully armored troops were perched in bushes and others were man handling the citizens that were once seen on the right side of the mural. Everyone now has a horrified look on their faces and the sorrow emitting from their faces speaks of persecution and dismantled lives. In addition, on the top, right corner of the mural you could see the people running to a nearby village, but the village seems rural and clearly they did not want to go.

In closing, the mural was very insightful and easy on the eyes! It was absolutely beautiful and for a moment I forgot about the 10 block walk and appreciated what the mural was relaying to the community. I think it was trying to tell people that Afro Colombians are a force in the Black community just as they are in the Latin community. They are a people worthy of recognition and their story needs to be brought to the forefront.