Black pride

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black pride is a slogan used interchangeably to depict both the movement of and concept within politically active black communities, especially African Americans in the United States. It advocated slogans such as "Black is beautiful."

The slogan has been used by African Americans to denote a feeling of self-respect, celebrating one's heritage, and being proud of one's personal worth. Black pride as a national movement is closely linked with the developments of the American Civil Rights Movement, during which noted figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, A. Philip Randolph, Stokely Carmichael, and others protested the conditions of the United States' segregated society, and lobbied for better treatment for people of all races.

The concept of black power also permeated into the work of popular musicians at the time. The Impressions's "We're a Winner", written by their lead singer Curtis Mayfield, became a virtual anthem of the black power and black pride movements, as did James Brown's "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" and, unwittingly, Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street".

[edit] Black is Beautiful

A related movement rose in the 1970s to dispel the notion that black people's natural features, skin color, and hair were inherently "ugly." The movement asked that men and women stop straightening their hair and attempting to lighten or bleach their skin, claiming they were trying to "look more white." The prevailing idea in America culture was that black features were less attractive or desirable than white features. This idea even existed in the black communities and led to practices such as paper bag parties.

The movement is largely responsible for the popularity of the Afro. Today it lives on in cornrows, dreadlocks, and many other hairstyles that were unfamiliar to African Americans prior to the 70s. Most importantly, it gave a generation of African Americans the courage to feel good about who they are and how they look.

Even now the movement has not fully taken hold. Many black women spend 6-10 hours a week in a struggle to keep their hair from looking nappy or kinky. Natural hair styles are still considered "somewhat rebellious" or "unkempt" and many books on interviewing continue to advise against them.