Had to post part II of The Melissa Harris-Perry Show for Sunday, June 10th
“How Black Hair Matters”
Watch for 7:26- “…it’s the definitive experience of little black girlhood.” It’s topics like these that I feel really passionate about: the development of self-image and the concepts of goodness and beauty in children. If we think we can raise healthy children without carefully tending to these concepts in our household and communities, we’ve got some revelation coming…
Make no mistake about it, children learn a lot of social values and standards through visual reinforcement. And through casual, but consistent encounters of their communities’ habits.
My mom once said, “what your mother doesn’t teach you, the world will.” That shouldn’t be an excuse for a parent to be harsh to their kid, but an opportunity to impart lessons of healthy self-esteem, self-love, generosity, humility, and other pieces of goodness. The world- through its conflicting, confusing, and confounding messages- does not impart such lessons with security.
The lessons kids really get are the ones we-as parents, siblings, mentors, and elders- integrate into our own lives first through deep intention and meditation. Our actions have to match our words, and our words must match our thoughts.
