As a child, I grew up with a mass
of thick, curly, untamable hair. Hair
that I absolutely hated because it was so hard to control, and because all of
my friends had sleek, shiny, straight hair that perfectly fit my idea of
beautiful. I used to be so irked that it
took me hours to straighten my hair, that I had to use hair product whenever I
left the house, and that I couldn’t simply “throw my hair into a
ponytail”. Worst of all, though, was
that every time I went to a hotel, I had to bring my own shampoo because the
kinds they provide simply isn’t right for me.
And I began thinking, what a privilege it must be to have straight hair,
the kind of hair that works with all types and brands of shampoo.
Recently, while reading an excerpt
from “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” by Beverly
Daniel Tatum, I came across an interesting piece of information that allowed
all of these pitiful complaints from my childhood to come rushing back into my
mind. Tatum was discussing White
Privilege, the system of advantages given to Whites in our society simply
because they are just that: white. She
provided the example that Whites, unlike Blacks, could easily find the right
hair care products in any store. And, of
course, I immediately thought of my own situation.
That statement really made me
think. I grew up believing that my
curly-haired disadvantage was difficult, but I never really had much trouble
finding the right shampoo, conditioner, or any hair product in Target, Walmart,
or even a local pharmacy (hotels were a different story). Now, I’m not saying I understand at all what
it would be like to represent a minority in the world today. I am simply saying that I can sympathize with
them, and that I cannot even fathom how difficult other aspects of their lives
may be, considering this is a fairly simple one.
Our society, our stores, even our
hotels to a certain extent, are built to serve the majority instead of everyone
as a whole. While some things may seem
pretty basic (like the brand of shampoo), others can pose quite a hindrance on
people’s way of life. Blacks are faced
with struggles, just as Whites are given easy passes, on little things every
day. And some of these things –
actually, most of things – go unnoticed.
Black women are more likely to be followed around in a department store,
for fear that they would shoplift. Women
are more likely to pull their purses closer to them when a black man walks
by. And most people will lock their cars
when they are driving through the “Black part of town”.
While thinking about this topic, I realized that
my hair isn’t the problem, just as having Black skin isn’t the problem, and
representing a part of the minority isn’t even the problem. The problem is that not everyone is being
treated equally, whether it be something as simple as being given the correct
hair product or something as significant as being treated as an individual
rather than a statistic. Yes, these
things can be uncomfortable to talk about (aside from the hair care
products). But the talking needs to be
done. Something needs to be said. And the situation needs to be changed. We’ll start with shampoo, and move on from
there. One step at a time.
