Tobi Kalejaiye

Elizabeth Caruso
UWRIT
April 14th, 2016
Black Girl Magic
I explored the idea of feminism. While some parts were exasperating to learn
about and other parts humbling, a particular section that caught my attention was
the idea of Womanism amongst African American women. Though we live in a
progressive world sometimes the progression is withheld based on race and gender.
With laws discouraging racism, negative portrayals of African Americans have since
changed from the era of Jim Crow Laws (Bogle, par. 4), but Black women have been
less advantaged than Black men by these shifts in media portrayals. Even though
the nineteenth amendment gave women the right to vote, black women were often
isolated from the feminism movement. Because of this exclusion theorists suggest
that black women are less likely than white women to identify as feminists (Boisnier,
255). Therefore, while black women support the premise of womens movement
theyd rather identify with Womanism instead of Feminism.
In its early stages Womanism was described as being somewhat willful, in
the sense of being fully awake, aware, and committed to speaking your truth
(Williams, 158). In other words, Black Girl Magic. Although a relatively new term, its
a term utilized in day to day language. Black Girl Magic is a movement based on the
belief that black women are no longer obligated to fit into the molds of Eurocentric
beauty, expectations or stereotypes. It is grounded in erasing the idea of
conventionality. The concept is important because it names and identifies the
ways that black women make space for themselves, celebrate themselves, and

connect to each other (Thomas, par. 9). This subtopic specifically stood out to me
because its a movement that I currently identify myself with. Up until a few years
ago this movement would have not existed for me to join. Until recently the amount
of black girls who viewed themselves as being worthy were in short supply. Women
like Channing Dangey, Maria Borges and Lupita Nyongo would never have a spot in
the limelight. And now that we (African American women) are taking it upon
ourselves to change the precedent of social dynamics we often encounter critiques
urging our silence. I decided that an effective medium to display the efforts of Black
Girl Magic would be displayed in a series of paintings. The paintings would
eventually be showcased in a satirical museum. The painting would serve as
satirical propaganda to Save the Black Women. This seemed appropriate because
it illustrates black women as defenseless, when in reality we are fully capable of
prevailing against tribulation. I thought it important that my product highlight the
efforts of black girl magic and the criticizers that often try to silent us.
Originally, I chose to paint three pictures of Black Women. Although there are
no standards of how a black woman must look, I chose three subjects that
personally stood out to me when I think of Black Girl Magic. Those three subjects
are: a little girl with cornrows, a woman with an afro and finally a woman with
extensions. These subjects were chosen because my hairstyles usually variate
between the three. I planned on using acrylic paint on a white canvases and
choosing bright colors as the backdrop. The backdrop color was important to me
because black woman are usually portrayed in media as sassy, feisty, hypersexual
beings (Bogle, par. 4). I wanted to avoid colors that were usually paired with the
negative stereotypes so I avoided warm colors. After drawing each subject I was
conflicted on what colors to paint their skin. My roommate suggested a dark brown

but I had an image of a milky brown in my head. These judgment calls may appear
to be ordinary artistic deliberations but they introduced the role of colorism in the
African American community. Understudied in academia, the impact of the colorism
is evident in black popular media. Such works include The Blacker the Berry,
School Daze, and Dear White People. This issue divides the African American
population and highlights some of the remnants of European Colonization. In
attempts to downplay this issue I decided to sketch the portraits and only add
value. This would allow my audience to visualize their own shade of brown.
The first of my series is a little black girl with cornrows. During the process of
me drawing some personal chords were struck. As I drew the plaits I remembered
how I detested the actual process of braiding my hair as a child. I didnt want braids.
I wanted long flowy hair that swayed when I walked. Its possible these thoughts
formed because at school I was surrounded by locks of blonde, brown hair.
Although, reflecting on my naivets lead me to an article by Cynthia L. Robinson.
Robinson contested that only after a legacy of slavery, hair valuations reflect
racially motivated beauty standards that work against Black females (Robinson,
360). Through media, adults and peers, young black girls learn the differences
between good and bad hair. More often than not these difference focus on outward
appearance and not the actual health of hair. More often than not these differences
elevate white beauty standards and devalue the kinky texture amongst black
females. It struck me as peculiar to find such information about African American
hair but with continued research I discovered this information is crucial to the
advancement of Black Girl Magic. The relationship between race, hair, and Black
female beauty is important to both scholarly research and Black Girl Magic because
hair is a major way that black females are devalued (Capodilupo, 268). With such

precedent against black females it is important that a movement such as Black Girl
Magic exist to reconstruct our notions about our hair.
Moving on to the woman with an afro. I was again moved by personal
sentiment. I could recall being told I had to get my hair done otherwise I would look
nappy-headed. I could recall wearing a hat over my bulging afro in order to not be
seen as a distraction. And more recently I could recite my fathers words advising
me against my decision to go natural in order to not make a big splash at my new
school. I chuckled and wondered who was in charge of these rules. Why did I have
to be nappy headed, and why was my hair such a distraction. With further
investigation I discovered Ashley Barker, former associate editor of beauty
magazine Glamour, had designated fros like mine as A real no-no!, it shocked her
to think that people would find these hairstyles appropriate to wear to an office,
because the political hairstyles really had to go( Jere-Malanda, 16). Not always
branded as a political statement, the afro was once seen as a symbol of Black
Power. It was made popular by civil rights activist Angela Davis. Throughout the
1960s the look represented a period of both self-esteem and progressiveness.
Decades down the line the hairstyle that once said Im black and Im proud
disappeared in a sea of hair extensions, chemical creams and sometimes even lace
front wigs(Jere Malanda, 18). My drawing depicts a woman sporting an afro while a
pick is subtly tucked in her hair. The pick was a detail I added to disprove
misconceptions that kinky hair is nappy and doesnt require uptake.
Finally, my last drawing depicted an African American women with braids. I
sighed while drawing the picture because it took just as long to shade the braids as
it does to braid them in real life. Braids are easier to upkeep, so many African
American women install them in order to save time on a daily do. Apart from a

manageable style, braids transmit cultural values ranging from religion, kinship,
status, age and ethnicity. With such historically rooted beginnings it came as a slap
to the African American community when Kylie Jenner donned them in an Instagram
post and they were instantly deemed as trendy. Her look was praised as being
new and epic. But there was nothing either new or epic about a hairstyle that
has been around for over a thousand years. When actress Amandla Stenberg spoke
out about the difference appropriation she was persecuted for being too harsh.
Kenya Hunt of Elle UK, I think when it comes to conversations about race and
cultural appropriation, we need to pick our battles. Were seeing people burn down
black churches in America right now, people killing young black women and men
because of the color of their skin. Kylie Jenners cornrows that she wore for hours?
That doesnt strike me as the battle we need to have. When black women want to
display their culture on their head theyre seen as weird. When white women imitate
the same culture theyre edgy. When black women call white women out on the
imitation theyre instantly seen as being mean. It seems African American women
are always getting the short end of the stick. In order to capture the historic origins
of braids I depicted the woman as West African. By doing this I could reference how
the origins evolved in Africa.
I added a bowl. However, the bowl is covered. Symbolically the bowl is to note that
black girls are not accepting any questions, comments or concerns. Black girls do
not need the donations of anyone else, they dont need any saving because theyre
too busy saving themselves.
Black females are located at the intersection of race and gender, facing a
triple threat of racism, sexism, and the combination of the two. However, because
of a single-axis approach to oppression, Black womens topics are often lost in race

or gender issues. Problems centering on race are usually centered from the black
male perspectives and sexual oppression is usually focused on white women.
Possible solutions have been offered to the lack of representation but they are not
healthy. Having video vixens serve as role models is not healthy. Having Michelle
Obama as the only ideal image for black women is not healthy. At the end of the day
black women are stuck between choosing to achieve impossible lengths of
Eurocentric beauty or sticking in the generic cheap molds society has created. Black
Women shouldnt have to choose between either. Black Girl Magic is a movement
that should exist, because for one of the first times in history its nice to see a
brown girl get some attention and get called beautiful by the world (Quinlan, 122).

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