My Afrocentric sistas!

I was watching the SAMA’s recently and saw all the gorgeous Afrocentric sistas’ perform. And each time I go to the salon, I listen to soul sistas who have found their fayah. We are growing our natural hair, short, dreads, cornrows, braids or plaited. We are proud to be African and I am surprised how we criticise our fellow sisters who have silky weaves, wigs, plastic and chemically processed hair. How we feel they haven’t seen the light since we have “found” ourselves. I read Lebo Mashile’s article on her naturally groomed hair, how she looked up to Pamela Nomvete (Ntsiki, from Generations) and was disappointed when Pamela decided to relax her hair. It’s funny how natural and Afrocentric our hair is, yet we carry fake nails, unpluck all our eyebrows and draw them back on. We wear long skirts, long dangling earrings and doeks to cover our hair. We say we have found our style. But why do we constantly want to convert others? Shouldn’t we all be allowed to find our style sense and embrace it? We all are drawn to the light in our own time if need be. Who made us miss-know-it-all’s? Shouldn’t we embrace the diversity in each of us, rather than criticise those who still love their hair silkier, smoother and prefer pants to skirts and dresses? I thought being African means Ubuntu, humility, welcoming people in whatever state they are in and making them feel at home, letting them realise their dreams by themselves not trying to shape them into mini versions of yourself. – From a girl with chunky dreads and tired of fake Afrocentricity since it makes us mean spirited and intolerant of others. Let us let our sistas to find their fayah.