I've always been Black. My parents are Black. Okay well, as you well know, most Black people are mixed with something and though I am Four Winds Cherokee Indian of Louisiana on my Dad's mom's side, we'll just say I'm Black.
Now…I'm also high maintenance. I've been getting my hair and feet done every two weeks for the entirety of my life. I believe in a standing appointment for hair! I need to know when its going to be done so I can plan my life according. (Even now that I'm natural and doing myself!) Let's gather some evidence…
An old roller set but it still looks good!
Beginning to transition rocking big curls!
Smaller curls as the transition continued…
This was me in Nebraska. Well the first one was mostly me since I started transitioning 8 months before I moved to NC. Anyway…I was always the one with the hair looking cute. Everyone in my lab knew that on Thursdays at 9 am, if I wasn't in the lab, I was in the hair shop.
I had excellent hair karma moving to Nebraska. I know it sounds odd but here's the scoop!
My mom came out there with me to move me to Nebraska. I drove 19 hours from my parents' driveway to Omaha. Yes its a long drive. There is nothing like your GPS saying "Stay on this highway for 375 miles" NOTHING!
Anyway, while she was still there we went a few different places. Typical spots like Walmart, Target, Nebraska Furniture Mart (which I still miss to this day). Every place we went, if a Black person's hair looked good my mother asked who did their hair and could we get her number.
So of course we visited the student store on campus and low and behold the manager was Black AND her slightly-longer-than-pixie cut was LAID honey. She was hot stuff and my mother walked right up and asked for her hair dresser's number.
On my 23rd birthday, I drove out to Bellevue, NE to get my hair done by Renee. Now my NC stylist relaxed my hair right before I left so 4 appointments into seeing Renee and 10 weeks since my last relaxer, I let Renee relax my hair. We were off to the races.
I loved her and so did my hair. My hair was soaking up that Mizani relaxer like it was its last and final meal. My hair flourished under her care. It was the longest it has ever been, until I went natural :-) Renee also happens to be a master hair cutter and even when I traveled to Nebraska this Christmas I surely made my appointment, got my now natural hair straightened, and cut by none other than Renee.
The blowout
Finished product!
Now I know you're wondering about the before mentioned "I'm Black" statements. Well…. in Nebraska, with my beautifully coifed mane and perfect eyebrows, I was something of an enigma. For some reason, I became non-placeable.
You see, Nebraska was the first place in my life that I'd ever been asked "What are you?"
Now all Black people know (or at least most do) that this question is basically saying "Are you mixed with anything other than Black?" The person asking in usually Black and they see something in you that makes them question are you one of them. You've seen my pictures guys. You know I went to a historically Black College. I'm Black. However, not until I arrived in Nebraska had I ever been mistaken for anything other than Black.
Back to the story!
My response "I'm Black."
Their response "But what are you mixed with?"
O____O
My response "I'm regular Black"
Their response "Really but your hair…" (I stopped listening at this point EACH and EVERY time in these conversations.)
You see it all came back to this hair.
My natural hair straightened but same effect
You see Black people in Nebraska aren't like me. They don't get their hair done every two weeks like clockwork. I remember asking for a standing appointment and Renee being shocked to hear such from a 23 year old. All her standing appointments were with retired women. O__O
I became the youngest client ever to have a standing appointment and apparently she was laying my hair so good that the fact that I am quite literally milk chocolate colored was not enough for my people. My fellow Black Americans in Nebraska took one look at my crowning glory and suspected I was NOT a carrying Black person as well.
Now I'm natural and back in the South and no one ever thinks I'm anything but "regular Black." :-)
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