By Suszanna Clarke
Tuesday, August 19 2008
newsday.co.tt
Back when I had decided I had grown tired of having straight hair, I’d cut it all off, leaving just an inch or two of my own naturally curly hair remaining.
I had loved it — the ability to wash it everyday, not having to worry about the wind messing it up and not having to buy any styling products other than a bottle of gel. The reaction of others was different; some loved it, others hated it. It also had the unpredicted benefit of getting rid of an ex who had been hovering hopefully in the background for years. Later he told me the first time he saw it he’d swore I had a male twin. My boyfriend at the time loved it. It reminded him of Maracas. He’d said. All the waves.
Continue reading Continuing racial prejudice cycle
July 19th 2008, I sit in the International Convention Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. I listen intently to the keynote speaker ten year old, university student Anfani Okosun. He speaks to issues of human rights and social justice, about putting an end to human suffering, and preserving the dignity of the person. He challenges us to remember those who perished under bad regimes and the impunity afforded their victimizers. He is scandalized by the usurping of the world’s resources by a few and implores us to work towards the dismantling of oppressive systems and structures. The positive traditions in our histories he says must be used to battle against the enormous challenges we face.
The mental slavery of descendants of slaves, referred to by Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor during his recent State visit, had resulted from a psychological campaign waged by Europeans determined to “establish” the racial “inferiority” of non-Europeans.