Diversity in the Playroom

Everybody knows that phrase from the bible: "Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it"(Proverbs 22: 6). It is so important to raise your child to be culturally aware especially in this progressively diverse nation. In order to tackle huge issue like racism and poverty, the mentality must change. And it starts with the kids. Here is a list of 5 must-haves in you child's playroom that promote diversity and equality especially when it relates to African-American culture. 




1. I Am Rainbow Child


This coloring book/ story book is very entertaining for young children plus it educates readers about biracial families.

2. The Colors of Us

This colorful book explores the beauty of diversity by comparing shades of skin to yummy treats like creamy peanut butter, honey, cinnamon and french toast.





















3. Multicultural Markers

Usually crayon / marker boxes come with only one black and one brown option, leaving a limited selection for young children who want to draw their twin on paper. Multi-cultural markers offer 8 different shades of brown that will allow children to draw more accurate pictures of themselves and their communities.










             4. Heart for Hearts Girls Dolls

            Not only do these dolls come in different shades,             but each doll has their own story, culture and                   perspectives on how to make the world a better
            place. These dolls are incredibly fun and
            educational.

                                              5. Brain Quest Black History

                                              This is the perfect game that teaches children                                                   about  black history.  Its colorful                                                                       layout and competitive nature is very
                                              entertaining for children who will learn 5,000                                                 years of history by the end of the game.
                                             
























Sources:

http://www.popsugar.com/moms/Multicultural-Kids-Toys-19097184#photo-19097380
http://www.theroot.com/photos/2014/03/culturally_sensitive_toys_promoting_diversity_during_playtime.html

I Want To Look Like Barbie!

There is nothing that gives a little girl more confidence then having a doll that looks like her! Many black girls grow up thinking they aren’t good enough or pretty enough after one visit to the toy store. Most of the barbie dolls sold in stores are white or black with bone straight hair and European features. Growing up, I literally owned one black barbie with a natural hair fro. I have no idea where my aunt was able to find her because they were so hard to come by. Unfortunately, I got her for Christmas later on in my childhood so the brain washing had already taken place. The rest of my barbies looked like the barbie version of Taylor Swift in black face. There was hardly anyone that looked like me on television or in the play room, so every night I prayed for straight hair, only to wake up with the coarse fro I could barely get my fingers through. I wanted to look like barbie. As I matured, I was able to recognize my own beauty. I learned that beauty came in ALL shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. But even though I embrace my black features, there are still younger black girls struggling with low self-esteem due to white washed dolls. 

Even with the natural hair movement constantly expanding, it is still very difficult to find black dolls with natural hair.  The lack of diversity in name brand toys has driven many black entrepreneurs to start their own line of black barbies. Karen Byrd is the founder and designer of Natural Girls Unite, a company that customizes black natural hair styles for barbie dolls. Form dread locs to fish tail braids, there is no limit to what Karen can create for young black girls. According to Byrd,  "If a child is constantly  looking at images, dolls, television, books and magazines- and only seeing beauty as something to someone with non-ethnic features and long straight hair- then they are going to assume that this is what beauty is.” Black Girls Unite therefore seeks to put black beauty in a positive light while increasing the self-confidence of black children around the world. Below are more examples of Karen Byrd’s beautiful creations. 

Sources: 

http://www.naturalgirlsunited.com/custom-request.html

https://www.pinterest.com/MissLonda101/dream-barbies/

3 Most Popular Protective Styles

If you have natural hair then you are most likely not a stranger to protective styling. According to Clutch Magazine, “the key to protective style is protecting the hair from over-manipulation, chemical and environmental elements.” These external elements can damage natural hair and prevent growth. As the natural hair movement expands, protective styles are becoming increasingly popular in the black community. Its popularity is even spreading into other racial groups. For instance, Kylie Jenner was recently referred to as a “trend setter” for sporting faux locs, a popular style typically used to preserve African American hair. What may be new to pop-culture is definitely not new to black naturalistas. Below I have listed  and described the most popular natural hair protective styles. 

Faux Locs 

This style is perfect for naturalistas who are not ready to be fully committed to dread locs but always wanted to rock the look. Faux locs are created by wrapping synthetic or human hair tightly around to great a dread like appearance. 

Crochet Braids 

This style is perfect for naturals who want to rock a big curly fro while preserving the strength of their own hair which is usually braided underneath. This look is created by first putting your own hair in cornrows and then taking a tiny crochet hook to put strands into knots around the braids. Stlyists are also starting to do "knotless crochets" along the parted section of the hair to make this style look even more natural. 

Yarn Braids 

This look is great for those who may have allergic reactions to synthetic hair or may want braids with a rougher texture. This style is achieved by braiding your hair with acrylic yarn instead of hair extensions. Each braid is sealed by burning the ends with a lighter to make sure the yarn does not unravel. 

Sources: 

http://www.haircolorsideas.com/brown-hair/medium-brown/crochet-braids/ — crochet braids image

https://tafistresses.wordpress.com/2013/08/17/yarn-twists-yarn-braids-yarn-wraps-yarn-locs-genie-locs-hairspiration-part-1/ - yarn braids image

http://mommynoire.com/74479/faux-locs-15-epic-looks-summer-2014/3/ - faux locs image

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2014/10/protective-styling-goes-wrong-explaining-common-issues/

Where Are All The Good Black Fathers??

The average black father seems to have one narrative in our society. He is an “irresponsible, fatherless, multiple baby mama having, child support dodging deadbeat dad who also happens to have a criminal record. However, some black fathers are stepping up to challenge this false narrative. One black father, Ben Dixon, admits in a video shared on “The Benjamin Dixon Show” that he was offended when some one told him that he was a "good example of a black father." Dixon states, “It bothered me because I am not a great example of a black father. I am an average example of a black father.” 

He states that there are indeed bad fathers, in  every race, but proclaims that “that’s the exception and not the rule." Dixon offered some great insight in regards to why this narrative is indeed misleading and harmful to the black community. He states, "It’s important that they make you believe that the only thing wrong in the black community is the absence of black fathers, because it deflects and distracts away from the real problem...which is the social, economic plight of African Americans... the fact that unemployment in black communities is higher than in any other community in the United States... the fact that crime is disproportionately an economic problem, and not just a color problem. They not only want you to think that African American fathers are absent, they want you to think that we are criminals because it helps perpetuate their political agenda. It helps them maintain the idea in your mind that we’re criminal, that we’re lazy, that we don’t take care of our children, but that’s a false narrative. That’s a lie, and the facts don’t back it up.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. 

Huffington Post writer, Danielle Cadet also challenged this racially biased narrative of the black father in an article entitled “Five Lies We Should Stop Telling about Black Fatherhood. One of the biggest lies in my opinion that Cadet mentioned is that “ Black fathers aren’t involved in their children’s lives.” Studies, however, have found that black fathers spend more time with their children on a daily basis than fathers from other racial groups. Moreover, there is no data that suggests that black fathers significantly differ from white fathers. The Pew Research Center found that "67 percent of dads who don’t live with their kids see them at least once a month, compared to 59 percent of white dads and just 32 percent of Hispanic dads” (Huffington Post). Also many people use the statistic that black fathers are more likely to be separated from their kids as proof that there is a problem with black fatherhood. However, as stated before, black fathers are very well present in their children’s lives and studies suggest that "the number of black dads living apart from their kids stems from structural systems of inequality and poverty,” not  ill feelings or beliefs towards parenting (Think Progress). 

With blacks constantly being portrayed in a negative light in the media, it is extremely hard to combat the black father stereotype. However,  if more good black fathers make an effort to share their personal stories of loving and supporting their families then we will move one step closer to trashing this false narrative. 

Sources: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/13/black-fatherhood-statistics_n_5491980.html

http://thebenjamindixonshow.com/average-black-father/

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/01/16/3175831/myth-absent-black-father/

image: http://pixgood.com/black-father-with-children.html

Black Women Defying the Odds

Given the stereotypes that tend to stifle black success, when a black person is acknowledged for their contributions to society it is... a big deal. Aside from blacks,  women regardless of race are the most widely stigmatized group in the world. Thus, being black and a woman, can oftentimes be a double whammy when trying to live a successful life. Being young may even be a triple whammy for some black women. I wanted to highlight four individuals who fit both profiles in Forbe's renown 30 under 30 list.

Keke Palmer, 21

At such a young age, Palmer continues to make history with her latest moves. Last year, she became the youngest talk show host and later, the first black woman to play Cinderella on Broadway. Her stunning style and contagious smile continues to draw more and more people into to her fan club. Palmer is also a singer and songwriter and maintains her successful career in acting.  


 Azealia Banks, 23

Some people get turned off by Banks' willingness  to share her controversial and unfiltered opinions on  topics such as racism in America. However, she still is making great contributions to the music world with her unconventional rhythmic songs with dance, electro, indie, latin, HipHop influences. 

 Darlene Okpo, 28 and Lizzy Okpo, 24

The Okpo sisters are also defying the odds for black women. They stylish sisters have started their own women's fashion label "William Okpo"  which has captured the attention of  many fashionistas included the one and only Solange Knowles. Their collection features a merge of  Nigerian and American styles in their impressive look book -- https://www.williamokpo.com/home/


Sources: 

http://theculture.forharriet.com/2015/01/meet-black-women-who-made-forbes-30.html

School to Prison Pipeline

One of the main issues affecting black communities in America is the school-to-prison pipeline. This trend refers to “policies and practices” in schools that function to push "at-risk” students out of educational institutions and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems (ACLU). The “get a good education so you can get a good job” philosophy oftentimes seems far-fetched to black Americans, especially for those who reside in low-income neighborhoods. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, at-risk individuals  have "learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse or neglect” which often get overlooked by school authorities who tend to focus solely on behavioral issues as they arise (ACLU). However such problems among students are typically the surface effects of the aforementioned underlying issues. Other factors contributing to the school to prison pipe line include “overcrowded classrooms, a lack of qualified teachers, and insufficient funding for ‘extras’ such as counselors, special education services, and even textbooks”(ACLU). 

Many students fall victim to "'zero-tolerance’ policies that criminalize minor infractions of school rules” (ACLU). Schools often rely heavily on police to settle student affairs and often send misbehaving students to alternative disciplinary schools where helpful resources are even more scarce (ACLU). Many students put out of school, are "often left unsupervised and without constructive activities” (ACLU). According to NPR, students returning from school suspension may become unmotivated given the amount of missed classwork and are therefore more likely to drop out. School drop outs often end up acquiring criminal records. Many students are sent directly to juvenile or criminal institutions after being involved in school fights. Moreover, various studies have concluded that black students are “much more likely to be suspended or expelled than white students, even when the infractions are the same”(NPR). 

The constant push for education reform will ultimately lead to the eradication of the school to prison pipeline. However, just as erasing racial bias in the criminal justice system, successfully reversing the bias that exists in our school systems seems quite impossible. Still, school administrators need to recognize the underlying issues that affect student behavior as well as decisions fueled by racial stereotypes. 

Sources: 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/03/21/292456211/black-preschoolers-far-more-likely-to-be-suspended

https://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/what-school-prison-pipeline

https://www.aclu.org/school-prison-pipeline