Beauty is Above Wearing Processed Hair, Skin-lightening Creams

In his book The Rise and Fall of the British Empire Lawrence James writes: ‘Thomas Birley, the Bishop of Zanzibar, whose diocese extended across Tanganyika, wondered in 1920 whether a black man was ultimately the loser when he attempted to transform himself into a “Base Imitation” of the white. Becoming conscious of what Europeans despise in them, negroes seek to camouflage themselves by feeble imitations.’ The wearing of processed hair and skin-lightening creams is a residue and self-deception from Colonialism written about under different headings including: “Colonial Mentality”; “Inferiority Complex”; “Psychology of Colonialism”; and many others. Colonialism like other wars applied different techniques of psychological warfare. The US Department of Defense defines psychological warfare as: ‘A planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such ways as to support the achievement of national objectives.’ The main goal of the psychological warfare of Colonialism was to kill one’s own self-esteem and self-confidence to produce a deeply-seated and neurotic inferiority complex. Take for example calling a fully grown-up man “Boy” for over a long period of time: That man will eventually begin to think, talk and act like a boy. South African freedom fighter Steve Biko was right by saying: ‘The deadliest weapon in the armory of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.’ The Law of Subconscious Activity states: Whatever you repeat over and over to yourself in your conscious mind will eventually be accepted by your subconscious mind and become reality in your own life.

Currently: The wearing of processed hair and skin-lightening creams in Africa and its Diaspora has reached dangerous, frightening and horrifying levels, creating both extreme self-devaluation and a serious environmental menace to discard used processed hair. In most cases: This imitation is taking place in total ignorance of the difference between beauty and prettiness. Beauty is a combination of THREE key qualities:

1. INTEGRITY.

2. SELF-CONFIDENCE

3. PLEASANT PERSONALITY.

First: The word ‘Integrity’ comes from the Latin word ‘Integritas’ meaning ‘Purity,’ ‘Moral Uprightness’ or ‘Honesty.’

Second: Self-confidence is applied faith. Faith in God, yourself, other people and opportunities of your country and world at large. Faith is expecting the best to happen despite any challenge. Faith in God gives you strength of purpose; faith in yourself gives you hope, optimism and concern for your country and the world; faith in other people gives you strength of character; and faith in the opportunities of your country and world gives you abundance and prosperity.

Third: Pleasant personality is a positive mental attitude. It’s a state of being full of and radiating love, happiness and faith. A pleasant personality is a product of a positive mind-set based on love that’s closely associated with success in any area of life. An imitator often has a negative mental attitude which thinks in terms of self-limitation, low self-concept and low self-esteem. A low self-concept is a strong feeling that the other person is better than you.

David Lamb in his book The Africans writes: ‘The colonialists left behind some schools and roads, some post offices and bureaucrats. But their cruelest legacy on the African continent was a lingering inferiority complex, a confused sense of identity. After all, when people are told for a century that they aren’t as clever as their masters they eventually start to believe it.’ On the other hand, a dictionary defines prettiness as: ‘Appearing or sounding pleasant or nice but lacking strength, force or intensity.’ In other words: A pretty person is not necessarily beautiful by just being pretty but a beautiful person is necessarily pretty by just being beautiful. How can you become beautiful when you depart from the Divine image and likeness in which you were created and take on a LOWER POSITION by imitating someone else? Separate fact from falsehood: Whenever you imitate someone else you lose more than 75 per cent of yourself.

In addition: There’re also many costs from imitating someone else to become beautiful. For instance: Recently, there was an interesting case at one local court on the Copperbelt province. A man was caught ready-handed by his wife in an affair with his maid. He told the court that his maid was looking more beautiful, attractive and natural to him than his wife. He said: His wife had over-used skin-lightening creams and processed hair so much that she was now a completely different creature from her natural and original beauty that she once had. He added: She was no longer attractive to him! The court recommended separation of two years for the couple to choose between beauty and marriage, on the one hand, and prettiness and end of marriage, on the other hand. Mahatma Gandhi was right when he said: ‘Imitation is the sincerest flattery.’ Prettiness minus integrity, self-confidence and pleasant personality is empty.

Beauty is always an inside job. For example: In 2014, Kenyan Oscar-winning actress, Lupita Nyongo, delivered an inspiring speech on the power of black beauty at a luncheon for Black Women in Hollywood, USA. She said: ‘I want to take this opportunity to talk about beauty. Black beauty. Dark beauty. I received a letter from a girl that read in part: “Dear Lupita, I think you’re really lucky to be this Black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy skin lightening cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me.” Nyongo eloquently advises: ‘Feel the validation of your external beauty but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside. THERE IS NO SHADE IN THAT BEAUTY… What I’ve learned is that I don’t have to be anybody else. Myself is good enough.’ Beauty comprises: Integrity; self-confidence; and pleasant personality.

Frantz Fanon in his book Black Skin White Masks quotes from Aime Cesaire’s book Discours Sur Le Colonialisme: ‘I am talking of millions of men and women who have been skillfully injected with fear, inferiority complexes, trepidation, servility, despair, abasement.’ Similarly, Norman Vincent Peale counseled: ‘The greatest secret for eliminating inferiority complex or deep and profound self-doubt is to fill your mind to over-flowing with faith.’ Overall: The Bible (1Peter 3:4) says: ‘Instead, your beauty should comprise your TRUE INNER-SELF, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God’s sight.’ Any independence must include beauty of men and women!

Make yourself beautiful in God’s image and likeness.