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IIAALL

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BBaanntt

oonn aa

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nn ooff

aa BB

eelliiee

ff SSyyss

tteemm

??

It st

arte

d of

f w

ith a

col

leag

ue o

f m

ine

shar

ing

the

resu

lts o

f an

inte

rvie

w s

he h

ad w

ith

a so

cial

wor

ker

who

was

ass

essi

ng h

er f

or f

oste

ring.

Sh

e ha

d be

enas

ked

if sh

e w

ould

con

side

r fos

terin

g a

gay

child

. A

ssh

e ha

d pl

anne

d to

fost

er a

par

ent a

nd c

hild

,sh

e as

ked

the

soci

al w

orke

r: “I

f she

is p

regn

ant,

how

cou

ld sh

e be

gay?

” T

he so

cial

wor

ker

resp

onde

d by

sayi

ng th

at sh

eco

uld

have

bee

n ra

ped

and

as a

res

ult

had

beco

me

preg

nant

?

This

con

vers

atio

n fo

rced

both

of

us to

refle

ct o

n ho

ww

e fe

lt ab

out h

omos

exua

l rel

atio

nshi

ps

My

back

grou

nd is

Jam

aica

n, e

ven

thou

gh I

was

bor

n in

the

UK

, so

I w

as r

aise

d in

a c

ultu

re t

hat

deno

unce

dho

mos

exua

lity.

Acc

ordi

ng to

Lis

a B

ragi

on, a

Jam

aica

nR

epor

ter,

even

now

in th

e ye

ar 2

009,

the

gay

com

mu-

nity

are

forc

ed to

go

unde

rgro

und

to p

ray

in c

hurc

h an

dan

Am

eric

an p

reac

her

flies

in

to K

ings

ton

to p

reac

hon

ce a

mon

th.

Whi

le I

acc

ept

that

som

e in

divi

dual

s ar

e bo

rn i

nto

hom

osex

ualit

y, I

do

not

like

its v

isua

l re

pres

enta

tion

flaun

ted

in

my

face

, bu

t th

at g

oes

for

here

tose

xual

rela

tions

hips

too

- it

mak

es m

e fe

el u

ncom

forta

ble

tose

e pe

ople

sno

ggin

g an

d gr

opin

g in

pub

lic!

Ial

so w

onde

r w

hy s

ome

gay

men

fin

d th

e ne

ed t

om

ake

thei

r se

xual

orie

ntat

ion

so o

bvio

us?

Lesb

ians

don’

t - a

part

from

the

hairc

ut in

som

e ca

ses!

I d

o no

tun

ders

tand

the

exa

gger

ated

han

d m

ovem

ents

, th

esw

agge

r and

the

toss

of t

he h

ead

and

in th

ere,

may

be,

lies

my

igno

ranc

e!

On

an e

arly

Nov

embe

r m

orni

ng (

on w

ww

.car

ibea

n-fe

ver.c

om),

I rea

d ab

out B

uju

Ban

ton

sitti

ng w

ith th

e1

gay

com

mun

ityto

dis

cuss

the

boy

cott

agai

nst

him

.W

as h

e w

rong

or d

id ig

nora

nce

hold

him

rans

om?

Did

he h

ave

crea

tive

licen

ce to

exp

ress

his

poi

nt o

f vie

w a

sa

lyric

ist,

or w

as h

is ‘m

ista

ke’o

r lac

k of

resp

onsi

bilit

ydu

e to

cho

osin

g ly

rics

that

wer

e co

nstru

ed a

s in

citin

gvi

olen

ce a

gain

st g

ays,

even

if th

ere

was

no

harm

inte

nded

?

Buj

u co

uld

have

bee

n la

uded

as

a cr

eativ

e ge

nius

beca

use

his i

mpa

ctfu

lly

rics a

rous

ed re

al e

mot

ion

(isn’

tth

at w

hat a

rt is

sup

pose

d to

do?

) but

sad

ly, t

he a

lread

yag

gres

sive

nat

ure

assi

gned

to Ja

mai

cans

, mea

nt th

at h

isly

rics w

ere

inte

rpre

ted

liter

ally

. B

uju’

s lyr

ical

con

tent

,w

heth

er b

y al

lego

ry o

r ana

logy

, sho

uld

be d

ocum

ente

das

a h

isto

rical

sta

tem

ent t

hat h

ighl

ight

s th

e be

havi

our,

etho

s, at

titud

e of

the

dom

inan

t Jam

aica

n cu

lture

of t

his

time!

I hav

e to

won

der i

f Buj

u w

as a

n ‘in

noce

nt’b

y-pr

oduc

tof

his

cul

ture

? Th

e PM

of J

amai

ca o

penl

y ad

mits

to th

eho

mop

hobi

c te

nden

cies

on

the

isla

nd, s

o if

prej

udic

es o

ffo

refa

ther

s ha

ve b

een

rein

forc

ed, t

rans

ferr

ed a

nd p

ro-

ject

ed o

nto

him

whi

ch, o

n a

smal

l isl

and,

is e

asy

to d

oan

d if

Buj

u ha

d gr

own

up b

elie

ving

that

bei

ng g

ay is

unac

cept

able

- w

ould

n’t h

e in

terp

ret t

hat e

thos

as a

lyri-

cal e

nter

tain

er?

Isn’

t Buj

u m

erel

yth

e pa

wn

of a

long

stan

ding

bel

ief s

yste

m a

nd if

so,

how

effe

ctiv

e ca

n di

s-cu

ssio

ns b

e w

ith t

he g

ay c

omm

unity

with

thi

s ba

ck-

drop

? S

ee a

rticl

e re

latin

g to

Buj

u on

ww

w.c

arib

ean-

feve

r.com

.

Bru

ce G

oldi

ng th

e Pr

ime

Min

iste

r of J

amai

ca, d

oes

not

belie

ve it

is th

e bu

sine

ss o

f gov

ernm

ent t

o “i

nter

fere

inw

hat

two

cons

entin

g ad

ults

cho

ose

to d

o w

ithin

the

irow

n pr

otec

ted

priv

acy.

..” b

ut s

tress

ed,

“...I

will

not

acce

pt it

that

hom

osex

ualit

y m

ust b

e ac

cept

ed a

s a le

git-

imat

e fo

rm o

f beh

avio

ur o

r the

equ

ival

ent o

f mar

riage

”.So

if th

is is

the

view

of t

he le

ader

of t

he is

land

, can

the

indi

geno

us,

like

Buj

u, r

eally

be

held

acc

ount

able

?

The

way

how

ind

ivid

uals

int

erpr

et g

ay l

ifest

yles

will

vary

. W

ill t

he m

ised

ucat

ed e

ver

com

preh

end

that

hom

osex

ualit

y is

not

nec

essa

rily

a ch

osen

pat

h? I

hav

ego

ne o

n a

tang

ent c

onsi

derin

g I

star

ted

off

with

a c

ol-

leag

ue e

valu

atin

g th

e im

plic

atio

ns o

f fo

ster

ing

a ga

ypa

rent

, but

wha

t Iha

ve b

een

tryin

g to

illu

stra

te is

how

wid

espr

ead

igno

ranc

e is

and

its

glob

al im

pact

. Wha

t is

para

mou

nt,

is t

o ac

cept

ind

ivid

uals

unc

ondi

tiona

lly,

rega

rdle

ss o

f the

ir se

xual

orie

ntat

ion,

race

, cul

ture

, rel

i-gi

on a

ge, g

ende

r or d

isab

ility

.

(The

Edi

tor)

Bla

ckbr

ight

New

sT

he T

otal

Qua

lity,

Info

rmat

ion-

Base

d Pu

blic

atio

n th

at

Stim

ulat

es,E

duca

tes,

Mot

ivat

es &

Ele

vate

sT

he C

ultu

ral L

earn

ing

Mag

azin

e de

velo

ped

to r

edre

ss in

accu

rate

per

cept

ions

!

Stud

io 5

7 S

ayw

ell R

oad

Lut

on

LU2

0QG

Tel:

0158

2 72

1 60

5em

ail:

blac

kbrig

htne

ws@

aol.c

omw

ww

.mys

pace

.com

/bla

ckbr

ight

new

s

Man

agin

g E

dito

r: M

yrna

Loy

ISSN

No.

1751

–190

9T

his

is a

n O

nlin

e P

ublic

atio

n O

nly

2

RELI

GION

- A

ID O

R HI

NDRA

NCE

TO S

PIRI

TUAL

ITY

Fiona

Wha

ta

Who

ever

we

are,

we a

re a

ll the

same

. We

all w

ant t

he sa

me

thing

s in

life: h

appin

ess,

fulfilm

ent,

not j

ust i

n ou

r live

s, bu

t

also

withi

n ou

rselve

s. W

hat m

akes

us h

appy

, wha

t moti

vates

us? A

s no t

wo pe

ople

are a

like,

the de

sires

and g

oals

of pe

o-

ple a

re v

aried

. Yet,

thro

ugh

whate

ver w

alk o

f life

, thr

ough

which

ever

era,

some

comm

on th

emes

tend

to em

erge

of w

hat

drive

s us t

hrou

gh o

ur liv

es: w

ho a

re w

e? W

hy a

re w

e he

re?

Spirit

ual w

holen

ess

is an

eter

nal q

uest

for th

e hu

man

race

.

The

two

most

comm

on p

athwa

ys to

this

goal

are

relig

ion,

which

I de

fine

as a

n or

ganis

ed s

ystem

that

belie

ves

in the

spirit

wor

ld an

d adh

eres

to a

spec

ific se

t of p

racti

ces d

esign

ed

to br

ing th

em cl

oser

to G

od, a

nd w

hat I

call s

piritu

alism

, whic

h

has t

he sa

me go

al as

relig

ion bu

t with

out it

s stru

ctura

l asp

ect.

Atten

ding

chur

ch re

gular

ly wo

uld fa

ll un

der t

he c

atego

ry of

relig

ious,

while

I wou

ld re

gard

read

ing ta

rot c

ards

and e

xplor

-

ing on

e’s ps

ychic

poten

tial a

s spir

ituali

sm. T

he ai

ms of

the t

wo

are

the s

ame,

yet t

here

is a

cur

iously

une

asy

relat

ionsh

ip

betw

een t

he tw

o. In

trying

to un

derst

and w

hy th

is is

the ca

se,

we m

ay u

nder

stand

our

selve

s bett

er.

Chris

tianit

y’s h

ostile

attit

ude

towar

ds a

ll thin

gs p

sych

ic is

well

ackn

owled

ged.

The

King

Jame

s ver

sion

of the

Bibl

e sta

tes in

Levit

icus,

‘Ama

n als

o or

wom

an th

at ha

th a

familia

r spir

it, or

that is

a w

izard

, sha

ll sur

ely b

e pu

t to

death

: the

y sha

ll ston

e

them

with

sto

nes:

their

bloo

d sh

all b

e up

on t

hem

.’

Deute

rono

my fu

rther

elab

orate

s,

‘The

re

shall

no

t be

fo

und

amon

g yo

u….a

nyon

e wh

o

prac

tices

divi

natio

n or

tells

for-

tunes

or i

nterp

rets

omen

s, or

a

sorc

erer

or a

cha

rmer

or

a

mediu

m or

a n

ecro

manc

er o

r

one

who

inquir

es o

f the

dea

d,

for w

hoev

er d

oes

these

thing

s

is an

abo

mina

tion

to the

LOR

D.’

Howe

ver, w

hat th

e Chr

istian

faith

has f

ailed

to ac

know

ledge

is

that th

e con

struc

tion o

f its o

wn re

ligion

appe

ars t

o hea

vily r

ely

on ps

ychic

s, an

d tha

t the c

hron

icles

of its

savio

ur re

veals

him

to ha

ve b

een,

perh

aps,

the g

reate

st ps

ychic

who

eve

r live

d.

The

Bible

, in p

artic

ular t

he O

ld Te

stame

nt, is

full o

f pro

phets

.

An on

line d

iction

ary d

efine

s a pr

ophe

t as a

n auth

orita

tive p

er-

son

who

divine

s the

futur

e. In

mode

rn d

ay p

arlan

ce, t

his

would

be a

psyc

hic. H

oly m

en su

ch as

Mos

es, Is

aiah,

Samu

el

and

Danie

l eith

er sp

oke

with

God,

saw

vision

s, pr

edict

ed th

e

3

futur

e, or

all th

ree.

The p

sych

ic gif

ts of

claira

udien

ce, c

lairvo

y-

ance

and

fortu

ne te

lling

are

clear

ly at

work

here

, and

the

dis-

play

of ps

ychic

acti

vity

beco

me m

ore

abun

dant

when

Jes

us

make

s his

appe

aran

ce in

the

New

Testa

ment.

We a

re in

forme

d tha

t Jes

us

held

a co

nver

satio

n wi

th

God

in th

e ga

rden

on

Geth

sem

ane

(clai

raud

i-

ence

), for

esaw

the

destr

uc-

tion

of

Jeru

salem

, th

e

futur

e of

mank

ind a

nd h

is

own

crucif

ixion

(pr

ecog

ni-

tion)

, and

even

demo

nstra

t-

ed ph

ysica

l psy

chic

abilit

ies

like

walki

ng o

n wa

ter, c

alming

a s

torm

and

multip

lying

a fe

w

fish

and

brea

d to

feed

thous

ands

. With

such

a ri

ch h

istor

y of

celeb

rated

psy

chic

phen

omen

a, it

is my

stifyi

ng t

hat

the

Chris

tian r

eligio

n sho

uld so

vehe

mentl

y opp

ose a

nd co

ndem

n

psyc

hic a

ctivit

y in

today

’s wo

rld.

One

argu

ment

that I

’ve o

ften

hear

d is

that t

he p

roph

ets fr

om

the B

ible

got t

heir

gifts

from

God,

while

toda

y’s p

sych

ics ca

n-

not a

ttribu

te the

ir po

wer t

o the

same

sour

ce. T

his is

, at b

est,

a dee

ply fla

wed v

iew. A

s in e

very

area

of lif

e, the

re is

the b

ad

along

with

the g

ood,

and t

here

are n

o sho

rtage

s of fr

audu

lent

psyc

hics a

nd g

enuin

e on

es w

ho m

isuse

their

gifts

. But

there

are m

any p

sych

ics w

ho al

ways

asse

rt tha

t their

powe

rs co

me

from

God.

It’s th

eir w

ord a

gains

t the C

hurch

’s wh

ich se

ems t

o

unive

rsally

con

demn

all

psyc

hics

as b

ad a

nd e

vil, w

ithou

t

inves

tigati

on.

An in

vesti

gatio

n, ho

weve

r, wo

uld b

e tric

ky –

how

does

one g

o abo

ut fin

ding p

roof

in the

intan

gible

and s

ci-

entifi

cally

unp

rove

n wo

rld o

f spir

ituali

ty?

Perh

aps

a mo

re

matur

e app

roac

h wou

ld inv

olve o

bser

ving t

he w

ork o

f the p

sy-

chic

unde

r scru

tiny

and

basin

g jud

geme

nt on

to w

hethe

r the

resu

lts a

re il

l hea

lth a

nd m

isfor

tune

or h

ealth

y, sp

iritua

lly

impr

oved

, love

-centr

ed cl

ients.

For

how

could

pos

itive

resu

lts

from

psyc

hic p

ower

s be

see

n as

com

ing fr

om a

ny o

ther

sour

ce th

an G

od?

This

lack o

f a ba

lance

d app

roac

h tow

ards

all th

ings p

sych

ic is

a hu

man

char

acter

istic

that g

oes

back

thou

sand

s of

year

s.

Desp

ite a

n ac

cepti

ng a

ttitud

e tow

ards

their

pro

phets

, bibl

ical

peop

le we

re no

t immu

ne to

hosti

lity of

psyc

hic di

splay

s as t

he

follow

ing p

assa

ge fr

om th

e Bi

ble d

emon

strate

s:

‘Then

they

bro

ught

to him

[Jes

us] a

dem

oniac

who

was

blin

d

and

mute.

He

cure

d the

mute

per

son

so th

at he

could

spea

k

and

see.

All th

e cro

wd w

as a

stoun

ded,

and

said,

“Cou

ld thi

s per

haps

be th

e So

n of

David

?”

But w

hen

the P

haris

ees

hear

d thi

s, the

y sa

id, “

This

man

drive

s out

demo

ns on

ly by

the p

ower

of B

eelze

bul, t

he pr

ince

of de

mons

.”

But h

e kne

w wh

at the

y wer

e thin

king a

nd sa

id to

them,

“Eve

ry

kingd

om d

ivide

d ag

ainst

itself

will

be la

id wa

ste, a

nd n

o tow

n

or h

ouse

divi

ded

again

st its

elf w

ill sta

nd.

And

if Sa

tan d

rives

out

Satan

, he

is div

ided

again

st him

self;

how,

then

, will

his ki

ngdo

m sta

nd?’

(Matt

hew

12: 2

2 –

26)

So w

hat i

s ab

out p

sych

ic ph

enom

ena

that p

eople

find

so

threa

tening

? Ma

ybe

beca

use

it’s co

ntrar

y to

acce

pted

norm

s

of hu

man a

bility

and b

ehav

iour, a

nd it

is hu

man n

ature

to vi

ew

as th

reate

ning

anyth

ing th

at is

differ

ent.

Yet I

find

mys

elf

unco

nvinc

ed th

at be

ing p

sych

ic is

an a

bnor

mal c

ondit

ion fo

r

huma

n na

ture.

The

follow

ing in

ciden

t rela

ted in

Matt

hew

14:

22 –

31,

valid

ates m

y dou

bt:

‘Imme

diatel

y Je

sus

made

the

discip

les g

et int

o the

boa

t and

4

go o

n ah

ead

of him

to th

e oth

er si

de, w

hile

he d

ismiss

ed th

e

crowd

. Afte

r he

had

dismi

ssed

them

, he

went

up o

n a

moun

-

tains

ide by

hims

elf to

pray

. Whe

n eve

ning c

ame,

he w

as th

ere

alone

, but

the b

oat w

as a

lread

y a co

nside

rable

dist

ance

from

land,

buffe

ted b

y the

wav

es b

ecau

se th

e wi

nd w

as a

gains

t it.

Durin

g the

four

th wa

tch o

f the

nigh

t Jes

us w

ent o

ut to

them,

walki

ng o

n the

lake

. Whe

n the

disc

iples

saw

him

walk

ing o

n

the la

ke, th

ey w

ere t

errifi

ed. “

It’s a

ghos

t,” th

ey sa

id, an

d crie

d

out in

fear.

But J

esus

imme

diatel

y sa

id to

them:

“Tak

e co

urag

e! It

is I.

Don’t

be

afraid

.”

“Lor

d, if i

t’s yo

u,” P

eter r

eplie

d, “te

ll me t

o com

e to y

ou on

the

water

.”

“Com

e,” h

e sa

id.

Then

Pete

r got

down

out o

f the b

oat, w

alked

on th

e wate

r and

came

towa

rd Je

sus.

But w

hen h

e saw

the w

ind, h

e was

afra

id

and,

begin

ning

to sin

k, cri

ed o

ut, “L

ord,

save

me!”

Imme

diatel

y Je

sus

reac

hed

out h

is ha

nd a

nd c

augh

t him

.

“You

of li

ttle fa

ith,”

he sa

id, “w

hy d

id yo

u do

ubt?”

’

Now

the sc

ene-

steale

r of t

his sh

ow is

, of c

ourse

, Jes

us, a

nd

much

atten

tion h

as be

en de

voted

abou

t his

walki

ng on

wate

r.

Wha

t is

often

ove

rlook

ed is

this:

so

did P

eter.

Mome

ntarily

perh

aps,

but h

e too

disp

layed

phy

sical

psyc

hic a

bility

. In

my

mind

, the

re a

re tw

o ex

plana

tions

for w

hy P

eter w

as a

ble to

walk

on w

ater.

The

first a

nd m

ost g

ener

ally a

ccep

ted o

ne, is

that i

t was

Jes

us w

ho p

erfor

med

a mi

racle

and

gav

e Pe

ter

supe

rnatu

ral p

ower

s. In

my o

pinion

, ano

ther t

heor

y is

poss

i-

ble: t

hat P

eter a

lread

y po

sses

sed

these

pow

ers.

Lying

dor

-

mant

until

he sa

w the

way

Jesu

s was

not

boun

d by

the

laws

of the

phys

ical w

orld,

the p

ower

s bec

ame a

ctiva

ted by

simp

ly

belie

ving

that h

e too

cou

ld do

it. I

t was

n’t u

ntil h

e be

came

frighte

ned

upon

see

ing th

e str

ong

wind

, tha

t his

belie

f and

abilit

y to w

alk on

wate

r des

erted

him.

If Pe

ter’s

sudd

en su

per-

natur

al ha

d be

en b

estow

ed o

n him

by

Jesu

s, I t

hink,

they

would

not

have

bee

n so

dep

ende

nt on

the

forme

r’s re

actio

n,

but w

ould

have

wor

ked r

egar

dless

of w

hat P

eter t

houg

ht of

it.

That

Jesu

s sho

uld ch

astis

e him

: ‘You

of lit

tle fa

ith, w

hy do

you

doub

t?’se

ems t

o me

confi

rmati

on th

at Pe

ter, n

ot Je

sus,

con-

trolle

d his

own

abil

ity to

walk

on

water

.

So if

I am

corre

ct, ho

w do

es th

is pr

ove t

hat p

osse

ssing

supe

r-

natur

al po

wers

is no

t all

that u

nnatu

ral t

o hu

man

natur

e? It

was j

ust o

ne p

erso

n. Ho

weve

r, Pe

ter’s

adve

nture

was

not

an

isolat

ed in

ciden

t. W

hile

I don

’t thi

nk th

ere

are

many

peo

ple

who

will

relat

e ev

er h

aving

walk

ed o

n wa

ter, m

ost o

r all

of

huma

n bein

gs ha

ve at

point

or an

other

in th

eir liv

es, m

anife

st-

ed ab

ilities

that

can o

nly be

desc

ribed

as su

pern

atura

l or p

sy-

chic.

The

se a

bilitie

s ra

nge

from

havin

g pr

emon

itions

tha

t

some

thing

drea

dful is

abou

t to ha

ppen

, to se

eing t

he fu

ture i

n

drea

ms, t

o se

nsing

peo

ple’s

aura

s (‘I

can’t

exp

lain

it, bu

t

there

’s so

methi

ng a

bout

that p

erso

n tha

t doe

sn’t

feel r

ight’).

That

most

peop

le of

all cu

lture

s and

ages

and r

eligio

ns ex

pe-

rienc

e this

thro

ugho

ut the

ages

, stro

ngly

sugg

ests

that h

uman

being

s are

inhe

rentl

y psy

chic.

My st

ance

is th

at be

ing p

sych

ic is

a na

tural

huma

n co

nditio

n.

Huma

ns, i

n the

ir ful

l who

lenes

s an

d po

tentia

l are

psy

chic

being

s. Re

ligion

is su

ppos

ed to

be a

pathw

ay an

d aid

to sp

ir-

itual

whole

ness

. Bec

ause

it is

hosti

le tow

ards

, and

vigo

rous

ly

fights

again

st wh

at it a

ims f

or, it

could

be sa

id tha

t reli

gion h

in-

ders

huma

nity’s

pro

gres

s in

the s

piritu

al qu

est.

Howe

ver,

I

think

the

oppo

site

may b

e tru

e; tha

t reli

gion

does

guid

e us

, if

unint

entio

nally

. For

it giv

es us

mor

e ins

ight in

to ou

rselve

s, an

d

sure

ly kn

owing

our

selve

s is

the k

ey to

gro

wth

for in

ord

er to

get r

ight w

ith o

urse

lves,

we h

ave

to firs

t kno

w wh

at is

wron

g

with

ourse

lves.

Wha

t reli

gion

show

s us,

throu

gh its

ada

mant

oppo

sition

towa

rds w

hat is

only

a natu

ral s

tate o

f bein

g, is

that

what

we m

ost s

trive t

o acc

ompli

sh –

spirit

ual g

rowt

h and

per-

fectio

n –

is wh

at we

fear

the

most.

Not

all h

uman

s ar

e re

li-

gious

, but

relig

ion is

crea

ted b

y hum

ans a

nd th

erefo

re p

rone

to the

foibl

es th

at aff

lict h

uman

bein

gs in

gen

eral.

Eve

ry ins

ti-

tution

in lif

e is

domi

nated

by h

uman

s, an

d thr

ough

the

weak

-

ness

es m

anife

sted

by e

ach

one,

they

refle

ct ba

ck to

us,

our

huma

n na

ture.

We s

eek t

o rea

lise w

ho w

e are

, yet

what

we m

ost fe

ar is

who

we ar

e, ou

r gre

atnes

s. As

Mar

ianne

Wils

on st

ated,

‘Our

deep

-

est fe

ar is

not th

at we

are i

nade

quate

. Our

deep

est fe

ar is

that

we a

re p

ower

ful b

eyon

d me

asur

e. It

is ou

r ligh

t, no

t our

dar

k-

ness

, tha

t frig

htens

us m

ost.

We

ask o

urse

lves,

‘Who

am

I to

be b

rillian

t, go

rgeo

us, t

alente

d, an

d fam

ous?

’Actu

ally,

who

are

you

not t

o be

? Yo

u ar

e a

child

of G

od.’T

he re

ason

why

relig

ion a

nd sp

iritua

lism

is at

odds

with

eac

h oth

er is

that

we

are a

t odd

s with

in ou

rselve

s. W

e run

away

from

wha

t we m

ost

seek

. The

reas

on fo

r this

fear

of ou

rselve

s is n

ot cle

ar, an

d is

some

thing

I po

nder.

Whe

n an

d if

it be

come

s cle

ar, it

will

be

anoth

er in

sight

into

huma

n na

ture,

which

can

only

aid

my

climb

towa

rds a

goal

that is

comm

on to

us al

l: hap

pines

s and

fulfilm

ent.

By F

iona

Wha

ta

5

Did

yo

u K

no

w..

.Th

at

rum

ou

r h

as

it t

hat

the S

ou

r S

op

or

the

fru

it f

rom

th

e g

ravio

la t

ree i

s a m

iracu

lou

sn

atu

ral

can

cer

cell

kil

ler

If it

is 1

0,0

00

tim

es

stro

ng

er

than

Ch

em

o -

wh

yare

we n

ot

aw

are

of

this

?It

s b

eca

use

so

me

big

co

rpo

rati

on

wan

t to

make b

ack

th

eir

mo

ney

spen

t o

n y

ears

of

rese

arc

h b

y t

ryin

g t

o m

ake a

syn

theti

c vers

ion

of

it f

or

sale

.

So

, si

nce

yo

u k

no

w it

no

w y

ou

can

help

a f

rien

din

need

by l

ett

ing

him

kn

ow

or

just

dri

nk s

om

eso

ur

sop

ju

ice y

ou

rself

as

pre

ven

tio

n f

rom

tim

eto

tim

e.

Th

e t

ast

e i

s n

ot

bad

aft

er

all.

It’s

com

ple

tely

natu

ral

an

d d

efi

nit

ely

has

no

sid

eeff

ect

s.If

yo

u h

ave th

e sp

ace

, p

lan

t o

ne in

yo

ur

gard

en

.

Th

e

oth

er

part

s o

f th

e

tree

are

als

o

use

ful.

Th

e n

ext

tim

e y

ou

have a

fru

it j

uic

e,

ask

fo

r a

sou

r so

p.

Th

e

mir

acu

lou

s G

ravio

la

tree

is

low

an

d

isca

lled

gra

vio

la i

n B

razi

l ,

gu

an

ab

an

a i

n S

pan

ish

an

d

has

the

un

insp

irin

g

nam

e

“so

urs

op

” in

En

gli

sh.

Th

e f

ruit

is

very

larg

e a

nd

th

e s

ub

aci

dsw

eet

wh

ite p

ulp

is

eate

n o

ut

of

han

d o

r, m

ore

com

mo

nly

, u

sed

to

make f

ruit

dri

nks,

sh

erb

ets

an

d s

uch

.

Th

e p

rin

cip

al in

tere

st in

th

is p

lan

t is

beca

use

of

its

stro

ng

an

ti-c

an

cer

eff

ect

s.

Alt

ho

ug

h

it

iseff

ect

ive f

or

a n

um

ber

of

med

ical

con

dit

ion

s, i

tis

its

an

ti t

um

or

eff

ect

th

at

is o

f m

ost

in

tere

st.

Th

is p

lan

t is

a p

roven

can

cer

rem

ed

y f

or

can

-ce

rs o

f all

typ

es.

Besi

des

bein

g a

can

cer

rem

ed

y,

gra

vio

la i

s a

bro

ad

sp

ect

rum

an

tim

icro

bia

l ag

en

t fo

r b

oth

bact

eri

al

an

d

fun

gal

infe

ctio

ns,

is

eff

ect

ive

ag

ain

st i

nte

rnal

para

site

s an

d w

orm

s, l

ow

ers

hig

h b

loo

d p

ress

ure

an

d i

s u

sed

fo

r d

ep

ress

ion

,st

ress

an

d n

erv

ou

s d

iso

rders

.

(NO

TE:

Th

e E

dit

or

has

an

un

bia

sed

vie

w a

bo

ut

this

exce

rpt)

EEttaannaa

-- RRee

ggggaaee

MMoottii

vvaattoorr

EEttaannaa

-- RRee

ggggaaee

MMoottii

vvaattoorr

King

ston,

Jam

aica

, 14t

h O

ctob

er 2

009

Ofte

n in

fuse

d w

ithm

essa

ges

and

real

life

sto

ries,

Etan

a’s

mus

ic is

cre

dite

d w

ith m

ovin

g al

l who

list

en.

Riv

etin

g so

ngs

like

“Wro

ng A

ddre

ss,”

“R

oots

,”“N

otA

frai

d” a

ndth

e la

test

sin

gle

“Aug

ust T

own”

sta

y tru

eto

Eta

na’s

sig

natu

rest

yle.

But

bey

ond

the

soul

ful

sing

er’s

lov

e of

mus

ic,

lies

a pa

ssio

n to

help

the

yout

h. A

nd t

hrou

ghou

t he

r im

pres

sive

care

er,

Etan

aha

s ta

ken

prid

e in

ins

pirin

g an

d m

otiv

atin

g yo

uth

thro

ugh

mus

ic a

nd m

any

othe

r ef

forts

.M

oreo

ver,

the

soul

ful s

ongs

tress

is e

spec

ially

ves

ted

inem

pow

erin

gyo

ung

girls

.

“I h

ave

alw

ays

take

n a

spec

ial i

nter

est i

n th

e yo

uth

asth

ey h

old

the

key

toth

e fu

ture

,” s

ays

Etan

a si

ncer

ely.

“I a

m p

artic

ular

ly d

riven

to

enco

urag

e yo

ung

girls

sinc

e th

ey o

ften

don’

t re

cogn

ize

thei

r fu

ll po

tent

ial

beca

use

of so

me

of so

ciet

y’s s

tere

otyp

ical

role

s pla

ced

befo

re th

em.”

“Ove

rall,

I w

ant

youn

g gi

rls t

oho

ld t

heir

head

s up

high

and

embr

ace

thei

r pow

er...

...I t

ypic

ally

tell

them

that

they

can

do

any

and

ever

ythi

ng o

nce

they

put

thei

rm

ind

to it

,” th

e si

nger

add

s.

With

see

ds d

eepl

y ro

oted

in th

e yo

uth,

Eta

na re

gula

rlyta

lks

to T

he Y

oung

Reg

gae

Girl

z, J

amai

ca’s

und

er 1

7an

dun

der

20 f

emal

e so

ccer

team

s.A

hit a

mon

g th

ete

am m

embe

rs,

Etan

a sh

ares

mus

ic a

nd l

ife e

xper

i-en

ces w

ith th

e te

am a

nd e

ncou

rage

s the

girl

s to

resp

ect

them

selv

es so

that

oth

ers c

an re

spec

t the

m. E

tana

indi

-ca

tes

that

a m

ajor

par

t of

“res

pect

” co

mes

with

abs

ti-ne

nce.

Fur

ther

,th

e ar

tist

lets

the

Girl

z kn

ow th

at it

’sok

ay to

be

stro

ng b

lack

wom

en.

But

no

talk

is c

om-

plet

e w

ithou

t foc

usin

g on

the

cent

ral t

hem

e of

edu

ca-

tion.

Acr

itica

l com

pone

nt, t

he a

rtist

dec

lare

s “e

duca

-tio

n is

the

gre

ates

t w

ay t

o ov

erco

me

pove

rty a

nd b

esu

cces

sful

.”

Mot

ivat

iona

l ta

lks

with

the

Reg

gae

Girl

z ar

e ju

st a

snip

pet

of E

tana

’s c

omm

itmen

t to

the

you

th,

as s

here

gula

rly v

isits

sch

ools

thr

ough

out

the

wor

ld.

No

mat

ter w

here

Eta

na is

per

form

ing,

she

goe

s ou

t of h

erw

ay to

vis

it sc

hool

s in

the

resp

ectiv

e ar

ea.

Whi

le th

eyo

uth

are

too

youn

g to

atte

nd m

ost o

f her

per

form

anc-

6

es, s

he b

rings

ent

erta

inm

ent d

irect

ly to

them

by

drop

-pi

ng in

on

surp

rise

visi

ts. R

egul

arly

, Eta

nasi

ngs s

ome

of h

er b

est k

now

n se

lect

ions

and

inte

rmitt

ently

mot

i-va

tes

the

clas

sroo

m t

o pu

rsue

an

educ

atio

n,st

ayfo

cuse

d an

d m

ake

good

dec

isio

ns.

She

cont

inuo

usly

lets

the

cla

ssro

oms

know

tha

t al

l th

ings

are

pos

sibl

ew

ith e

duca

tion.

In a

dditi

on to

thes

e in

depe

nden

t effo

rts, E

tana

is n

ow a

feat

ured

arti

st o

n th

e R

E Sc

hool

Tou

r.R

ecen

tly, t

hepo

wer

ful

Etan

a co

mm

ande

d th

e st

andi

ng r

oom

onl

ycr

owd

at

the

Tour

’s

first

st

op

at

St.

And

rew

’sTe

chni

cal H

igh

Scho

ol in

Kin

gsto

n, J

A.

Ther

e, “

The

Stro

ng O

ne”

belte

d ou

ta

strin

g of

hits

to th

e 70

0-pl

uscr

owd

and

was

eve

r-so

amus

ed w

hen

stud

ents

san

gth

e ly

rics v

erba

tim.

Alth

ough

Eta

na w

as p

egge

d fo

r a3-

song

set

, the

cro

wd’

s ov

erw

helm

ing

resp

onse

mad

ehe

rst

ay to

perf

orm

2 m

ore

song

s.

Thro

ugho

ut h

er s

et,

Etan

a co

nsis

tent

lyde

liver

ed t

hem

essa

ge o

f ab

stin

ence

and

stay

ing

in s

choo

lto

the

yout

h an

d th

anke

d th

ete

ache

rs f

or d

ilige

ntly

mou

ld-

ing

and

shap

ing

the

lead

ers

of t

omor

row.

Etan

a is

slat

ed to

per

form

on

the

tour

eac

h Tu

esda

y th

at s

he is

in J

amai

ca u

ntil

the

tour

’s e

nd i

n m

id-N

ovem

ber.

Etan

a w

illin

gly

join

ed th

e R

E Sc

hool

Tou

r fo

ra

sec-

ond

time

beca

use

it’s

plat

form

isdi

rect

ly in

tune

with

her e

fforts

invo

lvin

g yo

uth.

Etan

a’s

wor

k in

volv

ing

yout

his

ong

oing

.It

isth

esi

nger

’sut

mos

t goa

l to

laun

ch a

you

th-d

riven

foun

da-

tion

in th

e fu

ture

cen

tred

on th

e th

emes

of

educ

atio

nan

d em

pow

erm

ent.

Plan

s fo

r th

is f

ound

atio

n, w

hich

will

form

aliz

e Et

ana’

s ef

forts

, will

beg

in s

oon.

ME

DIA

INQ

UIR

IES:

Flai

rLi

ndse

ypu

blic

ity@

irish

andc

hin.

com

(202

) 277

-819

1 (c

)(7

18) 8

78-6

323

(o)

http

://w

ww.

irish

andc

hin.

com

Iris

h an

d C

hin,

Inc.

• 22

Wes

tmin

iste

r Roa

d K

ings

ton

10, J

amai

ca •

876-

926-

7562

• 71

8-87

8-63

23

7

Kin

gst

on, J

am

aic

a

Th

e ev

er-s

o-ta

len

ted

Reg

gae

son

gstr

ess

Eta

na

has

mad

e gr

eat

stri

des

in

20

09

, af

ford

ing

the

wor

ldw

ith

her

sou

lfu

l bra

nd

of R

egga

e m

usi

c.A

dd

ing

toan

alr

ead

yim

pre

ssiv

e ye

ar,

Eta

na

has

bee

n c

ho-

sen

to r

epre

sen

t Ja

mai

ca a

t th

e Jo

han

nes

burg

20

09

A

rts

Ali

ve

F

est

iva

lin

Jo

han

nes

bu

rg,

Sou

th A

fric

a.

Oh

Ja

h,

I co

me

bef

ore

yo

u t

od

ay

to

ask

Yo

ur

for-

giv

enes

s a

nd

to

see

k Y

ou

r d

irec

tio

n a

nd

gu

ida

nce

.I’

n’I

kn

ow

Yo

ur

Wo

rd s

ay

s, “

wo

e to

th

ose

wh

o c

all

evil

go

od

” b

ut

tha

t is

ex

act

ly w

ha

t w

e h

av

e d

on

e.W

e

ha

ve

lo

st

ou

r sp

irit

ua

l e

qu

ilib

riu

m

an

dre

ver

sed

ou

r v

alu

es.

We

con

fess

th

at:

We

ha

ve

rid

icu

led

th

e a

bso

lute

tru

th o

f Y

ou

r W

ord

an

d c

all

ed i

t P

lura

lism

; w

e h

av

e en

do

rsed

per

ver

-si

on

an

d c

all

ed i

t a

lter

na

tiv

e li

fest

yle

; W

e h

av

eex

plo

ited

th

e p

oo

r a

nd

ca

lled

it

the

lott

ery

’

We

ha

ve

rew

ard

ed l

azi

nes

s a

nd

ca

lled

it

wel

fare

;W

e h

av

e k

ille

d o

ur

un

bo

rn a

nd

ca

lled

it

cho

ice;

We

ha

ve

sho

t a

bo

rtio

nis

ts a

nd

ca

lled

it

just

ifia

ble

;

We

ha

ve

neg

lect

ed t

o d

isci

pli

ne

ou

r ch

ild

ren

an

dca

lle

d

it

bu

ild

ing

se

lf-e

ste

em

; w

e

ha

ve

a

bu

sed

po

wer

an

d c

all

ed i

t p

oli

tics

; w

e h

av

e co

vet

ed o

ur

nei

gh

bo

ur’

s p

oss

essi

on

s a

nd

ca

lled

it

am

bit

ion

;

We

h

av

e

po

llu

ted

th

e

air

w

ith

p

rofa

nit

y

an

dp

orn

og

rap

hy

an

d c

all

ed i

t fr

eed

om

of

exp

ress

ion

;

We

ha

ve

rid

icu

led

th

e ti

me-

ho

no

ure

d v

alu

es o

f o

ur

fore

fath

ers

an

d c

all

ed i

t en

lig

hte

nm

ent.

Sea

rch

us,

Oh

JA

H a

nd

kn

ow

ou

r h

eart

s to

da

y,

clea

nse

us

fro

m e

ver

y s

in a

nd

set

us

free

.

Gu

ide

an

d b

less

all

th

y c

hil

dre

n,

wh

o h

av

e b

een

sen

tto

dir

ect

us

to t

he

cen

tre

of

yo

ur

wil

l, t

o o

pen

-ly

ask

it

in t

he

na

me

of

the

mo

st h

igh

JA

H

AAAArrrr eeee

wwwweeee

TTTT eeeeaaaa

cccc hhhhiiii nnnn

ggggFFFF aaaa

iiii lllluuuu

rrrr eeee????

The

typi

cal

high

sch

ool

teac

hes

30%

of

its s

tu-

dent

s to

be

failu

res.

Thi

s is

bec

ause

the

curr

icu-

lum

onl

y re

cogn

ises

aca

dem

ic s

kills

, and

stu

dent

inte

llige

nce

is m

easu

red

by t

his

stan

dard

. N

on-

acad

emic

ski

lls a

nd a

ssoc

iate

d in

telli

genc

e ar

eig

nore

d. A

pers

on w

ho h

as th

e ab

ility

to b

e a

first

clas

s w

elde

r is

labe

led

a fa

ilure

. H

e m

ay n

ever

beco

me

a w

elde

r be

caus

e se

lf-fu

lfilli

ng p

roph

ecy

base

d on

aca

dem

ics,

will

det

erm

ine

his

fate

.W

hen

th

e a

cad

em

ic c

urr

icu

lum

is

a c

hallen

ge

to t

he n

atu

ral

tale

nte

d i

nte

llect

ual,

no

n-i

nte

l-le

ctu

als

ca

nn

ot

com

pete

an

d w

ill

be la

bele

dfa

ilu

res.

Th

ey d

on

’t h

ave t

he a

cad

em

ic t

ale

nt

that

inte

llect

uals

do

.

Wh

en

th

e

aca

dem

ic

curr

icu

lum

allo

ws

no

n-

inte

llect

uals

to

re

ceiv

e p

ass

ing

g

rad

es,

th

en

inte

llect

uals

will

no

t h

ave o

pp

ort

un

ity t

o d

is-

cover

their

fu

ll p

ote

nti

al.

Th

ese

stu

den

ts w

ill

beco

me u

nre

cog

nis

ed

failu

res,

mean

ing

, th

eir

skills

will

be w

ell b

elo

w t

heir

cap

ab

ilit

ies.

Ther

e w

ill a

lway

s be

failu

res

whe

n yo

ung

peop

lear

e so

rted

by a

ge a

nd e

xpec

ted

to m

eet

pro-

gram

med

ac

hiev

emen

t by

th

at

age.

H

uman

natu

re d

oes

not w

ork

this

way

. The

sys

tem

mus

tbe

in

harm

ony

with

hum

an n

atur

e. I

n th

e rig

htle

arni

ng e

nviro

nmen

t, an

yone

can

exc

el a

nd n

oon

e ne

eds

to b

e la

belle

d a

failu

re.

Bef

ore

the

1900

s, m

ost

peop

le li

ved

on a

far

m,

and

scho

olin

g w

as in

a o

ne-r

oom

sch

oolh

ouse

. In

this

env

ironm

ent,

stud

ents

wer

e so

rted

by s

kill

leve

l, no

t by

ag

e.

This

al

low

ed

stud

ents

to

adva

nce

at a

nat

ural

pac

e w

ithou

t neg

ativ

e st

ig-

mas

. The

sys

tem

reco

gniz

es th

at e

very

one

has

aun

ique

tal

ent

and

has

diffe

rent

lear

ning

spe

eds.

Dev

elop

ing

a lo

ve t

o le

arn

was

the

goa

l and

its

effe

ctiv

enes

s w

as b

ased

on

the

abili

ty t

o sh

are

know

ledg

e. U

sual

ly, o

lder

stu

dent

s sh

ared

the

irkn

owle

dge

or

inte

rest

w

ith

youn

ger

stud

ents

.Yo

unge

r stu

dent

s w

ere

insp

ired

by o

lder

stu

dent

san

d th

ey b

ecam

e ro

le m

odel

s. T

his

inte

ract

ion

deve

lope

d a

resp

ect f

or fe

llow

stu

dent

s, in

spiri

ngal

l to

exce

l. Th

e on

e ro

om s

choo

lhou

se d

id n

otte

ach

stud

ents

to b

e fa

ilure

s.

The

term

“fa

ilure

” w

as a

dapt

ed b

y ci

ty s

choo

lsth

at u

se m

ultip

liabl

e cl

assr

oom

s an

d so

rted

stu-

dent

s by

age

. Per

form

ance

is b

ased

on

aver

ages

with

win

ners

and

lose

rs in

eve

ry c

lass

. Eve

ry s

tu-

dent

, in

each

age

gro

up, i

s ex

pect

ed to

mar

ch in

lock

ste

p to

a s

ingl

e dr

umm

er, t

he in

stru

ctor

. Rol

em

odel

s, in

the

clas

sroo

m, h

ave

beco

me

a th

ing

ofth

e pa

st, t

he s

harin

g of

kno

wle

dge,

by

stud

ents

, is

no lo

nger

an

educ

atio

n to

ol.

Toda

y’s

educ

atio

n ha

s a

prod

uctio

n lin

e m

enta

lity

with

insp

ecto

rs to

eje

ct th

ose

that

do

not c

onfo

rmto

the

syst

em. T

o m

ake

prod

uctio

n lin

e ed

ucat

ion

wor

k,

the

curr

icul

um

is

limite

d to

ac

adem

ics,

beca

use

it ca

n be

tau

ght

in t

he c

lass

room

and

resu

lts c

an b

e m

easu

red.

Thi

s m

ay s

eem

effi

-ci

ent,

but t

he p

rice

to s

ocie

ty o

f fai

ling

stud

ents

isbe

com

ing

too

high

to

be a

ccep

tabl

e. P

robl

ems

are

spira

ling

out o

f con

trol.

To h

elp

mai

ntai

n co

n-tro

l, po

litic

ians

are

pas

sing

law

s to

kee

p th

e sy

s-te

m in

pla

ce. T

his

cann

ot g

o on

fore

ver.

The

syst

em n

eeds

to

reco

gniz

e na

tura

l ta

lent

,pl

us s

kills

tha

t ca

nnot

be

mea

sure

d an

d ad

apt

lear

ning

en

viro

nmen

ts

to

indi

vidu

al

need

s.C

usto

miz

ing

educ

atio

n to

st

uden

ts’

pers

onal

inte

rest

and

lear

ning

hab

its is

why

hom

e sc

hool

-in

g pr

ogra

ms

are

so

succ

essf

ul.

Als

o,

hom

esc

hool

ers

do n

ot re

ceiv

e th

e fa

ilure

labe

l bec

ause

thei

r pro

gres

s is

NO

Tco

mpa

red

to o

ther

stu

dent

s;th

e go

al is

to d

evel

op a

love

to le

arn.

With

a lo

veto

lea

rn,

addi

tiona

l sk

ills

can

be m

aste

red

asne

eded

.

The

educ

atio

n sy

stem

use

s re

war

d an

d pu

nish

-m

ent a

s a

cont

rol t

ool.

Inte

llect

uals

are

rate

d m

ost

likel

y to

suc

ceed

, and

then

they

are

offe

red

scho

l-ar

ship

s th

at le

ad to

qua

lity

jobs

. Non

-inte

llect

uals

are

put

on t

he p

unis

hmen

t lis

t. Th

ey a

re d

enie

dpa

rtici

patio

n in

spe

cial

pro

ject

s an

d ot

her

non-

acad

emic

sub

ject

s in

clud

ing

shop

cou

rses

, su

b-8

ject

s th

ey c

ould

exc

el a

t. Th

is p

olic

y gu

aran

tees

that

pre

dict

ions

will

be

right

, “a

nyon

e w

ho d

oes

not m

aste

r aca

dem

ics

will

bec

ome

failu

res

in li

fe.”

Sel

f-ful

fillin

g pr

ophe

cy b

ecom

es t

he c

ontro

lling

fact

or.

Stan

dard

ized

test

ing

is w

iden

ing

the

gap

betw

een

pass

ing

and

faili

ng s

tude

nts.

The

pre

ssur

e to

com

ply

is fo

rcin

g m

argi

nal s

tude

nts

on o

ne s

ide

orth

e ot

her.

Ther

e is

a b

reak

ing

poin

t and

man

y si

m-

ply

give

up.

Incr

ease

pre

ssur

e w

ill fo

rce

stud

ents

to re

ach

that

bre

akin

g po

int a

t an

earli

er a

ge. T

hepr

ice

will

be

mor

e cr

ime

on th

e st

reet

s, n

ot le

ss.

On

the

othe

r han

d, th

e sc

hool

’s p

erfo

rman

ce ra

t-in

g in

crea

ses

whe

n fa

iling

stu

dent

s w

alk

away

from

the

syst

em.

So

ciety

need

s to

ab

an

do

n t

he b

elief

that

aca

-d

em

ics

is t

he o

nly

skill n

eed

ed

fo

r a s

ucc

ess

ful

an

d p

rod

uct

ive l

ife.

Hu

man

natu

re i

s n

ot

that

sim

ple

.

Mo

tivati

on

al

an

d i

nsp

irati

on

skills

, th

at

can

’tb

e m

easu

red

, are

no

t ta

ug

ht

in t

he c

lass

roo

m.

Th

e s

tud

en

t m

ust

dis

cover

an

d a

dap

t th

em

on

their

ow

n.

On

Self

-Est

eem

Ape

rson

who

can

’t re

ad a

nd w

rite

deve

lops

neg

ativ

ese

lf-es

teem

.

Ape

rson

who

can

rea

d an

d w

rite,

but

is to

ld th

ey a

rea

failu

re in

eve

ry c

lass

they

atte

nd, a

lso

deve

lop

neg-

ativ

e se

lf-es

teem

.

Peo

ple

with

neg

ativ

e se

lf-es

teem

acc

ept a

nd b

elie

veth

e ne

gativ

e la

bels

pla

ced

on t

hem

by

othe

rs,

espe

-ci

ally

aut

horit

y, a

nd s

impl

y gi

ves

up.

No

one

wan

ts to

ass

ocia

te w

ith p

eopl

e w

ith n

egat

ive

self-

este

em, e

ven

clas

smat

es.

No

empl

oyer

will

hire

peo

ple

with

neg

ativ

e se

lf-es

teem

no m

atte

r how

man

y ed

ucat

ion

certi

ficat

es th

ey h

ave.

Thes

e pe

ople

are

turn

ed o

ff to

the

lear

ning

pro

cess

.

Thes

e sa

me

stud

ents

cou

ld d

evel

op p

ositi

ve s

elf-

este

em i

n a

diffe

rent

lea

rnin

g en

viro

nmen

t, on

ew

here

aca

dem

ics

was

a b

ypro

duct

.

Ther

e is

mor

e to

edu

catio

n th

an a

cade

mic

s.

Em

plo

ym

en

t is

availab

le f

or

no

n-i

nte

llec-

tuals

wit

h p

osi

tive s

elf

-est

eem

ww

w.m

otiv

atio

n-to

ol.c

om

9

THE

OTHE

R SI

DE O

F TO

URIS

M(If

you’v

e vis

ited

the C

aribb

ean,

you’l

l love

this!

)It’s

witty

, it’s

funny

, it’s

enga

ging.

£10

+ p

.p. o

rge

t it fr

om yo

ur lib

rary.

(ISB

N 09

6323

881-

7)Or

der v

ia ww

w.my

spac

e.com

/blac

kbrig

htnew

s(W

ritten

by M

yrna

Loy,

Publi

shed

by A

OG)

The

Sha

dow

(P

leas

e A

naly

se th

is P

oem

)

I lo

oked

aro

und

and

saw

a b

ig s

hado

wIt

was

com

ing

up fr

om th

e flo

orI

wan

ted

to r

un, b

ut m

y fe

et w

ould

n’t l

etm

eI

had

seen

this

sha

dow

bef

ore.

..

I lo

oked

aw

ay to

sto

p th

em la

ughi

ngI

held

ont

o m

ysel

f to

keep

war

mB

ut th

ey k

ept c

omin

g, a

nd p

rodd

ing

and

taun

ting

Unt

il I

fell

and

hurt

my

arm

.

I kn

ow e

very

one

hate

s m

e,B

ecau

se I

look

ed th

e w

ay I

do

I do

n’t l

ike

my

hair,

the

clot

hes

that

I w

ear

I do

n’t l

ike

my

shoe

s –

so w

hy s

houl

d yo

u?

I tu

rned

aro

und

the

shad

ow w

as c

omin

gIt

was

follo

win

g m

e fr

om b

ehin

dI

kept

run

ning

– tr

ying

to g

et a

way

Unt

il I

real

ised

the

shad

ow w

as m

ine.

Wha

t do

you

thin

k th

e Po

et is

tryi

ng to

sha

re in

this

poe

m?

Why

do

you

thin

k th

e sh

adow

was

big

?

Why

do

you

thin

k sh

e ne

ver

real

ised

the

shad

ow w

as h

ers?

Wha

t doe

s th

is p

oem

say

abo

ut th

e au

thor

?

Hav

e an

y of

you

eve

rfe

lt lik

e so

meo

ne is

follo

win

g yo

u or

chas

ing

you?

Des

crib

e ho

w th

at e

xper

ienc

e fe

lt fo

ryo

u.

Hav

e yo

u ev

erfe

lt lik

e yo

u ca

n’t g

et a

way

from

som

ethi

ng?

Ples

ae s

hare

how

it fe

lt w

ith o

urre

ader

s.

Wha

t adv

ice

wou

ld y

ou g

ive

to th

e Po

et?

Plea

se r

espo

nd to

bla

ckbr

ight

new

s@ao

l.com

10

Shoo

ts:B

lack

bor

n lif

e gi

ven

fate

Bla

ck P

ower

,bla

ck m

agic

,bla

ck-d

eath

,bl

ackn

ess

Dar

knes

s,de

bris

,not

free

– m

e?H

ate,

fate

,no

mat

e,st

ate?

Bor

n...

scor

n,fo

rlor

n ,t

orn

– fle

sh’s

tho

rnSu

ppre

ssed

,pre

-con

fess

edN

ot d

ress

ed –

fest

...

erin

g

Lif

e...

stri

fe,n

o w

ife...

Cut

wit

h kn

ife,h

atre

d ri

fe

Tort

ure

ofth

e ta

lent

ed ..

.tem

pere

d

Giv

enho

pe,n

ot ju

st r

ope

Just

abl

e to

cop

e...

desi

re t

o el

ope

Esc

ape:

run,

use

the

gate

– d

on’t

wai

t.

Fate

? Su

ch s

tate

,muc

h ha

te.

Kin

dred

/mat

e,no

wei

ght.

Eni

gmat

ic m

eand

erin

g,th

ough

tsN

ew li

fe –

mas

tere

d be

ginn

ings

.

Mic

helle

Bal

ach-

Ali,

6/2

009

“Re

al T

alk

”it

’s a

bo

ut.

..

Re

al I

ssu

es.

..R

ea

l Pe

op

le..

.

Jade

, Iy

esha

, Sh

eeka

, Lo

ve a

nd R

enci

ear

e 5

youn

g D

Js/P

rese

ntor

s fr

om L

uton

, m

ento

red

by L

ady

Loy

and

who

go

unde

r th

e na

me

of‘R

eal T

alk’

.

Rea

l Ta

lkw

ill b

e pr

esen

ting

thei

r ra

dio

show

cal

led

on t

he p

erso

nalit

y-le

d in

tern

etra

dio

stat

ion

Jam

rock

Rad

io!

Rea

l Tal

kis

the

voic

e of

the

Yout

h.

Doe

s yo

ur f

amily

sup

port

you

or

do y

ou f

eel

alie

nate

d?

Are

yo

u ar

e th

inki

ng o

f ha

ving

chi

ldre

n to

com

pens

ate

for

som

ethi

ng y

ou a

re m

issi

ng?

Are

you

won

derin

g if

your

frie

nds

are

your

real

frie

nds?

Are

you

car

ryin

g th

e w

eapo

n or

is it

you

r alte

r-eg

o ?

ww

w.ja

mro

ckra

dio.

com

Aime

d at

the 1

4 - 2

5 ye

ar o

lds w

ho h

ave

chall

enge

s at h

ome

and

at sc

hool.

5 me

mber

s of

Real

Talk

have

qua

lifica

tions

in c

hild

care

,he

alth &

Socia

l Car

e, Sp

orts

&Sc

ience

and M

edia

along

with

their

own

expe

rienc

es a

re e

quipp

ed to

talk

abou

t rea

l issu

es.

BBrriieeff

iinnssiigg

hhtt ttoo

KKww

aannzzaa

aa

Dec

embe

r 25

is c

eleb

rate

d as

the

Ear

th D

ay o

f Hor

us.

Ori

gina

l Hol

y Tr

inity

is s

aid

to b

e Is

is,m

othe

rof

Osi

ris,

Hor

us,f

athe

r of

Osi

ris

and

Osi

ris

him

self.

Jesu

s is

cla

imed

to

be t

he E

nglis

h re

nditi

on,

com

ing

from

Gre

ek e

tym

olog

y Je

shua

(Jo

shua

)C

hris

t m

eani

ng t

he A

nnoi

nted

.

Kw

aanz

a la

sts

7 da

ys a

nd s

ymbo

lised

as

follo

ws:

26th

Dec

embe

r:U

nity

27th

Dec

embe

r:Se

lf D

eter

min

atio

n

28th

Dec

embe

r:C

olle

ctiv

e R

espo

nsib

ility

29th

Dec

embe

r:C

oope

rativ

e Ec

onom

ics

30th

Dec

embe

r:Pu

rpos

e (N

ia)

31st

Dec

embe

r:C

reat

ivity

1st

Janu

ary:

Con

fiden

ce w

ith F

aith

(Im

ani)

11

SSUU

BBSS

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e:__

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__

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____

____

____

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____

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Tel

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____

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(day

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)

Em

ail a

ddre

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____

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wis

h to

spo

nsor

/adv

ertis

e

in B

lack

brig

ht N

ews

(‘Bla

ckbr

ight

’)

A 5

0% c

ance

llatio

n fe

e of

£25

bec

omes

due

if W

E/I

canc

el.

Sig

ned

[

Prin

t N

ame]

Dat

e:

Org

anis

atio

n N

ame

:

Add

ress

…………

…………

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ges,

expe

rienc

es a

nd s

ucce

sses

.

Who

is it

for?

It’s

for a

nyon

e w

ho is

inte

rest

ed in

lear

n-in

g ab

out a

n in

divi

dual

jou

rney

s; a

ny-

one

who

feel

s th

ey a

re m

issi

ng o

ut o

nim

porta

nt in

form

atio

n, a

nd a

nyon

e w

holik

es to

be

stim

ulat

ed b

y in

tere

stin

g to

p-ic

s. How

do

read

ers

bene

fit?

They

ben

efit

by b

eing

info

rmed

, by

lear

ning

abo

ut p

eopl

e th

at a

re n

ot n

or-

mal

ly in

the

fore

fron

t of t

he n

ews

but

who

hav

e ju

st a

s im

porta

nt a

sto

ry to

tell. Why

read

it?

12

Misse

d a Co

py?

email

: blac

kbrig

htnew

s@ao

l.com

Stim

ulat

e Yo

ur B

rain

...

...R

egar

dles

s of

you

r ag

e!

Bets

y A

nder

son,

59

- Te

ache

r

“I h

ave

an i

nter

esti

ng p

robl

em w

ith

visu

al m

emor

y. I

was

extr

emel

y ne

arsi

ghte

d as

a c

hild

but

bec

ause

we

lived

‘ou

tba

ck o

f be

yond

,’no

one

not

iced

it

unti

l I

was

alm

ost

12!

So I

thi

nk I

mis

sed

som

e ha

rd w

irin

g in

the

vis

ual

depa

rt-

men

t. V

isua

l mem

ory

gam

es h

ave

ther

efor

e be

en a

par

tic-

ular

hel

p to

me,

bec

ause

I n

ever

rem

embe

r AN

YON

E’S

face

. I

can

alre

ady

see

an i

mpr

ovem

ent

in m

y da

ily l

ife.

Visu

al g

ames

als

o re

quir

e in

genu

ity

in i

nven

ting

sol

utio

nsfo

r on

e’s

part

icul

ar p

robl

ems.

I ha

ve h

ad t

o de

vise

way

s to

com

pens

ate

for

perc

epti

on s

kills

tha

t I

am l

acki

ng.

This

is

an a

ppro

ach

to t

houg

ht p

robl

ems

that

I ha

ven’

t tr

ied

muc

hin

the

pas

t, h

avin

g pr

efer

red

to a

band

on t

hing

s th

at w

ere

diff

icul

t.

I te

ach

an e

xerc

ise

clas

s at

a r

etir

emen

t co

mm

unit

y (m

yol

dest

stu

dent

s ar

e 95

and

96,

you

nges

t ar

e 65

) an

d I

noti

ce t

hat

the

peop

le w

ho s

eem

to

be s

urvi

ving

bes

t ar

eth

ose

who

hav

e m

ade

the

effo

rt t

o fi

nd s

olut

ions

to

new

prob

lem

s ra

ther

tha

n gi

ving

in

to t

hem

. M

y 95

-yea

r-ol

dst

uden

t is

nea

rly

blin

d, b

ut I

neve

r kn

ew it

unt

il sh

e as

ked

me

to p

osit

ion

her

phys

ical

ly f

or s

ome

of t

he e

xerc

ises

! I

wan

t to

be

like

her

whe

n I

grow

up!

”

ww

w.lu

min

osity

.com

DO

YO

U H

AVE

ALL

YOU

R C

OPI

ES?

M MI IS S

S SI IO O

N N S S

T TA A

T TE E

M ME E

N NT T

T TO O

S ST T

I IM MU U

L LA A

T TE E

, , E E

D DU U

C CA A

T TE E

, , M M

O OT T

I IV VA A

T TE E

& & E E

L LE E

V VA A

T TE E

Usi

ng th

e co

ncep

t beh

ind

ever

y ch

ild m

atte

rs, B

lack

brig

ht is

an e

duca

tiona

l ini

tiativ

e th

at h

as b

een

intro

duce

d to

pro

vide

enjo

yabl

e in

form

atio

n th

at w

ill h

elp

keep

our

rea

ders

saf

e.Th

e ta

rget

gro

up f

or B

lack

brig

ht is

edu

cate

d pa

rent

s; r

ole

mod

els,

men

tors

and

thos

e in

volv

ed in

soc

ial l

earn

ing

who

use

thei

r kno

wle

dge

skill

s an

d ex

perie

nces

to b

enef

it yo

ung

peop

le.

Mos

t B

ME

pub

licat

ions

hav

e br

oade

r co

nstit

uen-

cies

, and

as

a re

sult

have

lost

muc

h of

thei

r edi

toria

l im

pact

,du

e to

the

lack

of f

ocus

. B

lack

brig

ht is

spe

cific

ally

targ

eted

at a

sel

ect g

roup

whi

ch w

ill g

ive

it th

e m

uch

need

ed fo

cus

and

is e

xpec

ted

to b

e su

cces

sful

.

Wor

king

par

ents

are

con

stan

tly b

alan

cing

bet

wee

n a

prof

es-

sion

al (

or o

ther

car

eer)

whi

le tr

ying

to m

eet t

he o

blig

atio

nsof

a d

evot

ed p

aren

ts a

nd a

s a

resu

lt, w

hat

shou

ld b

e th

est

rong

est i

nflu

ence

in th

e yo

ung

pers

on’s

life

, can

no

long

erbe

due

to p

rolo

nged

abs

ence

s. B

lack

brig

ht o

ffers

‘alte

rna-

tive

pare

ntin

g’st

rate

gies

. B

lack

brig

ht c

an a

ddre

ss t

hese

issu

es s

ucce

ssfu

lly, i

t will

be

able

to a

ttrac

t a la

rge

audi

ence

lead

ing

to th

e su

cces

s of

the

mag

azin

e.

The

mar

ket f

easi

bilit

y w

as c

ondu

cted

usi

ng d

irect

mai

l and

pers

onal

dis

tribu

tion

whe

re 3

.2%

pos

itive

rate

is c

onsi

dere

da

succ

ess.

Th

is p

ositi

ve r

espo

nse

rate

see

ms

to in

dica

teth

at B

lack

brig

ht c

ould

cat

er t

o a

sele

ct a

udie

nce

that

has

not

been

cov

ered

by

exis

ting

publ

icat

ions

on

sim

ilar

sub-

ject

s.

Furth

er t

he C

hief

Edi

tor,

Myr

na L

oy h

as w

orke

d in

varie

d ca

paci

ties

from

a s

ecre

tary

to

a pu

blis

her

durin

g a

care

er s

pann

ing

mor

e th

an t

wo

deca

des.

W

ith M

yrna

’sex

perie

nce

and

cont

acts

, she

ass

embl

ed a

team

of v

olun

-te

ers

who

obt

aine

d pr

oof t

hat t

he p

erce

ived

mar

ket n

eed

for

a un

ique

mag

azin

e su

ch a

s B

lack

brig

ht w

hich

wou

ld e

ven-

tual

ly s

uppo

rt fo

rum

s an

d w

orks

hops

, w

as r

eal.

Mor

eim

porta

ntly,

Myr

na h

as t

he n

eces

sary

exp

erie

nce

to s

eeth

roug

h th

e su

cces

s of

B

lack

brig

ht

Mag

azin

e as

th

epr

oces

s is

not

new

to h

er.

Myr

na is

a p

erso

n w

ho e

njoy

sco

nsta

nt c

halle

nges

and

look

s fo

r new

opp

ortu

nitie

s.

Bla

ckbr

ight

has

bee

n no

min

ated

and

has

rec

eive

d se

vera

law

ards

for h

er re

leva

nce

to th

e co

mm

unity

, her

com

mitm

ent

to ra

isin

g aw

aren

ess

and

her e

ntre

pren

euria

l spi

rit.

13

Wha

t hai

r-ta

-do

abou

t not

hing

?So

me pe

ople

say t

hat b

lacks

have

embr

aced

hairs

tyles

and b

eauty

meth

-od

s tha

t refl

ect p

opula

r Eur

opea

n sta

ndar

ds o

f bea

uty. H

owev

er, B

lacks

have

use

d the

ir W

est A

frican

roots

and

their

own

artis

try to

crea

te sty

lesan

d sta

ndar

ds th

at re

flect

a un

ique

black

cultu

re.

Arou

nd 1

441

when

Afric

an sl

aves

wer

e br

ough

t wes

t to

the “N

ew W

orld,

”the

y wer

e con

fronte

d with

their

first

loss o

f iden

tity. It

was

then

that

the on

ean

d on

ly ide

ntity

they

had,

was

stripp

ed fr

om th

em. T

he s

tanda

rds

ofbe

auty

that t

hey e

ncou

ntere

d we

re th

e pr

ivileg

e of

fair s

kin, s

traigh

t hair

,an

d thi

n fea

tures

, in

contr

ast t

o “A

frican

” dar

k sk

in, c

urly

hair,

and

wide

rno

ses a

nd m

ouths

. Som

e sla

ves h

ad to

get

accu

stome

d to

the E

urop

ean

beau

ty sty

les to

survi

ve (li

terall

y). O

ften t

imes

they

wou

ld se

rve as

barb

ers

and/o

r bea

uticia

ns fo

r the

ir wh

ite o

wner

s. Ot

her s

laves

atte

mpted

to st

aywi

th the

ir tra

dition

al Af

rican

hair

cus

toms

like

braid

ing h

air u

sing

Afric

anpa

ttern

s and

usin

g na

tural

herb

s fro

m tre

es fo

r the

ir ha

ir an

d sk

in ca

re.

Offic

ially,

the r

oot o

f a ha

ir fibr

e stic

ks in

to so

methi

ng lik

e a ba

g in t

he sk

in.Th

e fib

re is

pus

hed

out o

f this

bag

abo

ut 0.3

5mm

per d

ay g

rowi

ng a

bout

1cm,

or h

alf o

f an

inch,

per m

onth.

The

gro

wth

rate

relat

es to

the

indivi

d-ua

l, his/

her a

ge, d

iet et

c. He

althy

hair h

as an

aver

age l

ifetim

e of 2

-6 ye

ars.

Thou

gh th

ere

are

exce

ption

s, the

hair

of b

lacks

is u

suall

y coa

rser i

n tex

-tur

e, tig

hter in

curl p

atter

n, mo

re na

turall

y deli

cate,

and m

ore v

ulner

able

toda

mage

from

che

mica

l tre

atmen

ts. B

ecau

se o

f our

mult

icultu

ral h

erita

gethe

re re

ally i

sn’t a

ny on

e typ

ical “t

ype”

of A

frican

-Ame

rican

hair.

Its te

xture

can

vary

from

fine

to me

dium

to co

arse

; its

curl

patte

rn fr

om s

traigh

t to

softly

wav

y to

exce

ssive

ly tig

ht; its

colou

rs fro

m blo

nde

to re

d, to

all so

rtsof

brow

ns, t

o bla

ck.

Ther

e is n

o che

mica

l diffe

renc

e in t

he m

akeu

p of A

frican

-Ame

rican

hair i

nco

mpar

ison

with

any

other

hair

type

. It h

as a

cuti

cle (t

he o

uter l

ayer

), a

corte

x (the

midd

le lay

er, co

mpos

ed pr

imar

ily of

kera

tin an

d mois

ture,

plus

melan

in, w

hich

gives

our

hair

its co

lour),

and

a m

edull

a (th

e ce

ntre

of the

hair s

haft)

. All t

hese

parts

are i

denti

cal to

thos

e of C

auca

sian h

air. W

hat is

differ

ent is

our w

ave,

curl o

r kink

and b

ondin

g patt

ern.

(Bon

ding s

peak

s to

the s

tructu

re o

f hair

: the

tigh

ter th

e bo

nd, t

he c

urlie

r the

hair

.) Ou

r hair

colou

r can

vary

from

a ve

ry lig

ht, sa

ndy b

londe

to d

ark b

lack.

Unive

rsally

ethnic

wom

en d

o ten

d to

have

rich

-bro

wn c

omple

xions

and

dee

p-br

own

hair.

Rega

rding

the

struc

ture

of “B

lack H

air,”

the re

ason

why

kink

y hair

bre

aks

so ea

sily i

s tha

t eve

ry tw

ist in

Afric

an A

meric

an ha

ir rep

rese

nts a

poten

tial

stres

s po

int, w

hich

mean

s the

cur

lier y

our h

air, t

he m

ore

pron

e it

is to

brea

kage

. Cor

nrow

s left

in to

o lon

g ca

n ca

use

tracti

on th

at ma

y res

ult in

brea

kage

. Our

kink

y hair

is al

so pr

one t

o catc

hing o

nto on

e ano

ther, w

hich

caus

es fr

agme

ntatio

n. W

hat m

akes

the c

olour

of ha

ir diffe

rent?

Whe

ther it

be b

lack,

blond

, and

bro

wn, t

he a

nswe

r lies

in m

elano

phor

e. Th

e ha

irro

ots co

ntain

pigme

nt ce

lls ca

lled m

elanin

, whic

h cre

ates a

blac

k pigm

ent.

Melan

opho

re is

a c

hrom

atoph

ore

that s

ends

pigm

ent t

o ne

w ha

ir. Th

egr

eater

the

amo

unt

of pig

ment

sent

to the

hair

, the

dar

ker

the h

airbe

come

s. On

the

contr

ary,

as th

e am

ount

of pig

ment

sent

is re

duce

d, the

hair

colou

r tur

ns b

rown

and

then

blon

d.

Some

peo

ple b

eliev

e tha

t diffe

renc

es in

hair

colou

r are

caus

ed b

y the

dif-

feren

ces

in the

inten

sity

of ult

ravio

let ra

ys c

ontai

ned

in the

sun

light,

towh

ich th

e ha

ir is

expo

sed.

Aba

by’s

hair

begin

s to

grow

aro

und

the th

irdmo

nth a

fter c

once

ption

. Tric

hocy

sts a

re fi

rst h

airs

forme

d. Th

ey d

evelo

pint

o ha

ir fol

licles

as t

he fe

tus g

rows

, the

n the

y bec

ome

down

y hair

s sev

-er

al ce

ntime

tres l

ong

when

the

baby

is b

orn.

The

total

numb

er o

f hair

s is

deter

mine

d be

fore

the b

aby i

s bor

n. Af

ter th

at, th

e nu

mber

of h

airs n

ever

incre

ases

, the

y on

ly de

creas

e. Th

ere

are

abou

t fou

r hun

dred

and

fifty

thous

and

of the

m to

be fo

und

abov

e the

nec

k. Th

ese

hairs

inclu

de a

bout

one

hund

red

thous

and

hairs

on

the h

ead

and

abou

t thir

ty tho

usan

d ha

irstak

en up

by m

ousta

ches

, bea

rds,

or fa

cial h

air. H

air gr

ows a

t a fa

ster r

atein

the sp

ring

and

summ

er th

an in

autu

mn a

nd w

inter.

On a

norm

al sc

alp th

ere a

re ab

out 1

00 to

150 t

hous

and h

air fib

res.

Ablo

ndhe

ad o

f hair

has

usu

ally m

uch

more

fibre

s tha

n re

d or

dar

k hair

ed h

eads

.Ha

ir co

nsist

s main

ly of

kera

tin, w

hich

is als

o re

spon

sible

for th

e ela

sticit

yof

finge

rnail

s. A

single

hair

has

a th

ickne

ss o

f 0.02

-0.04

mm, s

o tha

t 20

to50

hair

fibre

s nex

t to

each

othe

r mak

e on

e mi

llimetr

e. Ha

ir is

stron

g as

awi

re o

f iro

n. It

rips

after

app

lying

a fo

rce e

quiva

lent t

o 60

kg, a

fter i

t is

stretc

hed t

o 70%

. Reg

ardin

g hair

styles

and h

ow ge

nera

l Ame

rican

cultu

reaff

ects

black

hair

styles

, the

re a

re a

num

ber o

f opin

ions.

Many

blac

ks a

rgue

that

imita

ting

Euro

pean

stan

dard

s of

beau

ty an

dgr

oomi

ng w

as ne

cess

ary f

or bl

acks

to be

acce

pted b

y whit

e cult

ure,

espe

-cia

lly b

y po

tentia

l whit

e ma

sters

and

emplo

yers.

For

gen

erati

ons

hair-

styles

hav

e re

flecte

d the

hist

ory

of Am

erica

n ra

ce re

lation

s an

d the

way

black

s wo

re t

heir

hair

refle

cted

the d

omina

nt wh

ite c

ultur

e. Af

rican

-Am

erica

n hair

was

stra

ighten

ed, c

ombe

d, or

parte

d to m

imic

Wes

tern c

oif-

fures

. In

resp

onse

to th

e pr

opag

anda

in b

lack c

ommu

nities

to a

ccep

t the

Euro

pean

stan

dard

s of b

eauty

, the

blac

k hair

care

mar

ket e

xpan

ded.

Mada

m C.

J. W

alker

is o

ne o

f the

pion

eers

in the

blac

k ha

ir ca

re m

arke

twi

th he

r Walk

er S

ystem

. How

ever

ove

r the

year

s Afric

an A

meric

ans h

ave

throw

n aw

ay th

e Eu

rope

an s

tanda

rds

of be

auty.

Dur

ing th

e 19

60’s

the“A

fro” d

ebute

d and

with

it the

conc

ept o

f Blac

k is B

eauti

ful. D

uring

the 8

0’san

d the

90’s

Wes

t Afric

an tr

aditio

nal h

airsty

les b

egan

to re

surfa

ce in

the

black

com

munit

y. Ma

ny p

eople

wer

e ge

tting

braid

s wi

th the

trad

itiona

lW

est A

frican

patte

rns.

Ther

e are

man

y bea

uty sh

ops t

hat a

re de

signe

d to

create

only

Wes

t Afric

an tr

aditio

nal h

airsty

les.

Near

the

end

of the

twen

tieth

centu

ry, re

laxed

hair

bec

ame

popu

lar a

gain

in a w

ide ra

nge o

f sho

rt an

d lon

g styl

es, w

hile t

he ne

w jhe

ri cur

l use

d a di

f-fer

ent c

hemi

cal t

o cre

ate lo

ose,

wet c

urls

for b

oth m

en a

nd w

omen

.W

omen

and

men

cho

se d

read

locks

, twi

st, c

orks

crews

, fad

es, a

nd o

ther

styles

that

used

the

bene

fits o

f blac

k ha

ir’s n

atura

l tex

ture.

Desp

ite th

eec

onom

ic de

pres

sion

in ma

ny b

lack n

eighb

ourh

oods

, hair

salon

s rem

ainam

ong

the m

ost s

ucce

ssful

Blac

k bu

sines

s in

urba

n co

mmun

ities,

and

even

Afric

an A

meric

ans

who

move

to p

redo

mina

ntly

white

sub

urbs

ofte

nre

turn

to bla

ck u

rban

neig

hbou

rhoo

ds to

get

their

hair

done

.

Still,

blac

ks ar

e los

ing co

ntrol

over

the b

lack h

air ca

re m

arke

t. Bus

iness

bybu

sines

s, me

rger

s and

acqu

isitio

ns ar

e tak

ing ap

art b

lack-o

wned

hair c

are

ende

avou

rs. A

mome

nt of

truth

came

whe

n L’O

real

acqu

ired

Carso

n. Th

ere

sult

was

the t

op t

wo-b

lack

owne

d ha

ir ca

re c

ompa

nies

(John

son

Prod

ucts

and

Soft

Shee

n) w

ere

joine

d un

der L

’Ore

al’s

owne

rship.

Man

ywh

ite bu

sines

s peo

ple kn

ow w

hat k

ind of

mon

ey bl

ack p

eople

put in

to the

irha

ir ca

re a

nd w

ant a

par

t of t

hat m

arke

t.

The

popu

larity

of n

atura

l Afric

an A

meric

an h

airsty

les h

as a

lso d

evelo

ped

an In

terne

t follo

wing

. The

re ar

e man

y web

sites

with

infor

matio

n, pr

oduc

ts,an

d tips

for A

frican

Ame

rican

hair c

are.

Web

sites

devo

ted to

natur

al sty

les,

braid

s an

d dr

eadlo

cks

are

grow

ing to

o. Bl

ack

Hair

Media

is o

ne o

f the

more

comp

rehe

nsive

sites

onli

ne. N

appy

Hair

is a

nothe

r onli

ne re

sour

cefor

any

one

who

need

s gu

idanc

e ma

nagin

g na

tural

hair.

Offlin

e, ma

ny

14

book

s ha

ve b

een

publi

shed

on

the to

pic. A

mong

the

most

rece

nt is

the20

03-re

lease

d, “H

air R

ules:

The U

ltimate

Hair

-Car

e Guid

e for

Wom

en w

ithKi

nky,

Curly

, or W

avy H

air,”

by N

ew Y

ork C

ity st

ylist,

Anth

ony D

ickey

.

www .

natur

alnap

s.com

Ask a

lmos

t any

blac

k wom

an a

nd sh

e wi

ll pro

bably

tell y

ou th

at he

r rela

-tio

nship

with

her

hair

is si

milar

to a

love

affa

ir. W

hethe

r it’s

the

long

hour

ssp

ent w

aiting

at t

he h

air s

alon,

the p

ain e

ndur

ed fr

om p

ress

ing o

r bra

id-ing

, or th

e amo

unt o

f mon

ey sp

ent—

hair i

s tru

ly an

obse

ssion

. Whil

e I re

al-ize

othe

r cult

ures

value

hair

, in B

lack c

ultur

e ha

ir is

extre

mely

signif

icant

and

often

syn

onym

ous

with

identi

ty. A

nd m

any

indivi

duals

, suc

h as

Don

King

, Bob

Mar

ley, a

nd A

ngela

Dav

is ha

ve us

ed th

eir ha

ir to m

ake a

state

-me

nt.

As a

mem

ber o

f the

Blac

k cult

ure,

I adm

it we

often

take

the

signif

icanc

ean

d main

tenan

ce of

hair t

o ano

ther le

vel. B

ut thi

s is n

ot of

our o

wn w

ill. In

fact,

the im

porta

nce

of ha

ir in

the B

lack c

ommu

nity c

an b

e tra

ced

back

toou

r Afric

an a

nces

tors.

And

the h

istor

y of t

he a

ffair

begin

s....

The

origi

n of

this l

ove

affair

can

betra

ced

back

to A

frica.

It se

ems

only

natur

al tha

t the

“affa

ir” w

ould

begin

here

, sinc

e mo

st bla

cks

were

tran

spor

ted fr

om th

e we

st co

ast o

f Afric

a.Al

thoug

h the

textu

res

of the

ir ha

ir va

ried

grea

tly, t

he A

frican

s ex

pres

sed

simila

r view

s on

the cu

ltura

l and

socia

l sign

ifican

ce o

f the

ir ha

ir.

Socia

l sig

nific

ance

“In th

e ear

ly fift

eenth

centu

ry, ha

ir ser

ved a

s a ca

rrier

of m

essa

ges i

n mos

tW

est A

frican

socie

ties”

(Tha

rps a

nd B

yrd 2

001)

The

se A

frican

s—cit

izens

from

the M

ende

, Wolo

f, Yo

ruba

, and

Man

dingo

—we

re a

ll tra

nspo

rted

tothe

“New

Wor

ld” on

slav

e ship

s. W

ithin

these

comm

unitie

s, ha

ir ofte

n com

-mu

nicate

d ag

e, ma

rital s

tatus

, ethn

ic ide

ntity,

relig

ion, w

ealth

, and

rank

inthe

com

munit

y. Ha

irstyl

es c

ould

also

be u

sed

to ide

ntify

a ge

ogra

phic

regio

n. Fo

r exa

mple,

in th

e W

olof c

ultur

e of

Sene

gal, y

oung

girls

par

tially

shav

ed th

eir h

air a

s an

outw

ard

symb

ol tha

t the

y we

re n

ot co

urtin

g (1

).“A

nd th

e Kar

amo p

eople

of N

igeria

, for e

xamp

le, w

ere r

ecog

nized

for t

heir

uniqu

e co

iffure

—a

shav

ed h

ead

with

a sin

gle tu

ft of

hair

left o

n top

.” (1

)Lik

ewise

, wido

wed

wome

n wo

uld s

top a

ttend

ing to

their

hair

dur

ing th

eirpe

riod

of mo

urnin

g so

they

wou

ldn’t l

ook a

ttrac

tive

to oth

er m

en. A

nd a

sfar

as

comm

unity

lead

ers

were

con

cern

ed, t

hey

donn

ed e

labor

ate h

air-

styles

. And

the

roya

lty w

ould

often

wea

r a h

at or

hea

dpiec

e, as

a sy

mbol

of the

ir sta

ture.

Aest

hetic

sign

ifica

nce

Just

as th

e so

cial s

ignific

ance

of h

air w

as im

porta

nt, so

was

its a

esthe

ticap

peal.

Acc

ordin

g to

Sylvi

a Ard

yn B

oone

, an

anthr

opolo

gist w

ho sp

ecial

-ize

s in

the M

ende

cult

ure

of Si

erre

Leo

ne, “

Wes

t Afric

an c

ommu

nities

admi

re a

fine h

ead o

f long

, thick

hair o

n a w

oman

. Awo

man w

ith lo

ng th

ickha

ir de

mons

trates

the

life fo

rce, t

he m

ultipl

ying

powe

r of p

rofus

ion, p

ros-

perity

, a ‘g

reen

thum

b’for

bou

ntiful

farm

s an

d ma

ny h

ealth

y ch

ildre

n”(T

harp

s and

Byrd

200

1) H

owev

er, th

ere

was m

ore

to be

ing b

eauti

ful th

anha

ving

long

tress

es. O

ne’s

hair

also

had

to be

nea

t, cle

an, a

nd a

rrang

edin

a cer

tain s

tyle.

Thes

e styl

es in

clude

d, bu

t wer

e not

limite

d to,

corn

rows

,an

d othe

r bra

ided s

tyles

. The

y also

ador

ned t

he ha

ir with

orna

ments

such

as b

eads

and

cowr

ie sh

ells.

Spirt

ual S

igni

fican

ce

Just

as h

air w

as e

levate

d for

soc

ial a

nd a

esthe

tic re

ason

s, its

spir

itual

conn

ectio

n als

o se

rved

to he

ighten

its

signif

icanc

e. Ma

ny A

frican

sbe

lieve

d the

hair

a w

ay to

comm

unica

te wi

th the

Divi

ne B

eing.

Acco

rding

to Mo

hame

d Mb

odj,

an a

ssoc

iate

profe

ssor

of

histor

y at

Colum

biaUn

iversi

ty an

d a

nativ

e of

Daka

r, Se

nega

l, “the

hair

is th

e mo

st ele

vated

point

of

your

bod

y, wh

ich m

eans

it

is the

clos

est

to the

divi

ne.”

Cons

eque

ntly,

many

thou

ght c

ommu

nicati

on p

asse

d thr

ough

the

hair.

Many

belie

ved a

sing

le str

and o

f hair

could

be us

ed to

cast

spell

s or in

flict

harm

. This

exp

lains

why

hair

dres

sers

held

and

still h

old p

romi

nent

posi-

tions

in th

e co

mmun

ity. F

or th

ose

who

do n

ot kn

ow, s

tyling

and

gro

oming

black

hair i

s ofte

n com

plica

ted an

d tim

e con

sumi

ng. T

his tim

e spe

nt at

theha

irdre

sser

often

resu

lts in

clos

e bon

ds be

twee

n the

styli

st an

d the

clien

t.It i

s imp

ortan

t to no

te tha

t “un

styled

and u

nkem

pt ha

ir was

larg

ely un

seen

,as

wer

e sc

arve

s an

d he

adwr

aps.”

The

refor

e, on

e ca

n co

nclud

e tha

t the

hair

was n

ot me

ant t

o be

cove

red.

Dam

agin

g Ef

fect

s of t

he S

lave T

rade

As th

e stu

dy o

f Ame

rican

hist

ory

has

reve

aled,

the s

lave

trade

not

only

inflic

ted p

hysic

al da

mage

, but

it als

o lef

t emo

tiona

l and

psy

cholo

gical

scar

s. Th

e mo

st de

vasta

ting

scar,

that

is sti

ll refl

ected

toda

y, is

that d

one

to the

slav

e’s s

elf-im

age.

This

is es

pecia

lly tr

ue a

s it

relat

es to

hair

and

skin

color

. As

they

both

beca

me th

e fra

mewo

rk for

dete

rmini

ng r

ace.

Slav

e ow

ners

often

des

cribe

d the

Afric

ans’

hair

as b

eing

“woo

lly”,

thus

liken

ing th

em to

anim

als. T

hese

and

othe

r ter

ms w

ould

later

be

used

tojus

tify th

e inh

uman

e tre

atmen

t of th

e slav

es. A

fter y

ears

of re

pres

sion a

ndco

nstan

tly se

eing

those

with

“stra

ight h

air” a

nd “l

ight s

kin” a

fford

ed b

etter

oppo

rtunit

ies, th

e slav

es be

gan t

o inte

rnali

ze th

ese w

ords

. Ultim

ately,

self-

hatre

d be

gan.

In an

effo

rt to

educ

ate o

thers

abou

t blac

k hair

and

to ce

le-br

ate its

dive

rsity,

I cre

ated

this w

ebsit

e. W

hile

it is n

ot a

comp

lete

histor

yof

black

hair

, it sh

ould

prov

ide so

me b

asic

know

ledge

.

Sour

ce: w

ww.lm

l.jou.

ufl.e

du

www.

mys

pace

.com

/black

bright

news

email: b

lack

bright

news

@ao

l.co

mFo

unde

r: M

yrna

Loy

Phot

o by

Gar

field

Hal

lPa

ge D

esig

n: L

NG

upta