I Wore Two Faces
Being Black in America
In the 1970’s I needed to look like mainstream “America.” So, when I graduated from college in the late 70s, I let my “Angela Davis” afro go to get the jobs I wanted and choose my teaching career path. As sad as it may sound, I know I went much further in my career looking like a “mainstream” American than Angela Davis.
There’s a saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” As a Black American and a Black woman, that has remained true in many cases. I wanted my four-year degree to take me as far as I wanted to go. I didn’t want doors closed because I looked like a “radical” with kinky hair. So, I went with long, straight hair. Sad, but true.
I could go on and on about the plight of Blacks in this country, but it would just be the “same song, different day.” We’ve had to work harder and show up earlier just to be considered somewhat equal. And as a woman, there is a double standard of beauty that remains in this country. When men (news anchors, actors, etc.) get gray hair…
