hair and braiding

 Josiah took out his braids today...well, his friend Charlie took them out.  His natural hair is growing long and gorgeous....and we are hoping that tomorrow our Nisha will come and style it again.  Charlie also wants his hair braided...and his sister Aaliyah.  Our Nisha is gifted and talented and passionate about braiding and styling and growing healthy black hair.  She is invaluable to me....not just because she braids but because I love her as a person.  Her talent to do my kids hair is extra.....hair is a big deal in black community....as a white mom of black kids its also a big deal.  

In case you don't know....here is a bit of info.  When we decided to adopt a child and opened our profile to any race of child we were instructed to do some learning.  Their is a really good book called  A Hair Story.  I used to own it but I maybe loaned it out....find it and read it if you can.  There is also a really good documentary from Spike Lee called "Good Hair" available on youtube.  Watch it.  It matters.  It is part of culture and history and identity and it all matters. 

Styling black hair takes time....much more time than any white haircut or perm or style.....and it is deeply rooted in epigenetics and respect and something even more sacred that is not mine to describe.  There is a patience and a tolerance and an art and a skill to it that I don't even deserve to try to understand.  But I know enough to know it matters and to pay for it.  And it costs a lot.  It is time-consuming and it is relevant and it matters but so often kids and adults don't get their hair done because it is so expensive and time-consuming....

There are many hair stylists in town that do hair but none of them have learned to cut or treat or style black hair because it takes so much more time that it doesn't pay well....they can run many customers through and charge good fees for the hours and hours it would take to do black hair.....and can't charge enough to make it worth the time in the chair.... and that's a hard reality of living in a community of mostly white people.  We are lucky to have experts like Nisha who will come and do hair....

I have chosen to pay for Precious and Josiah to get their hair done.  They feel better when their hair looks good and to be honest, I feel like a better parent when I can provide this.  We make it work.  Not everyone can afford it, and it becomes a barrier and a self confidence issue....so I am curious and wondering tonight...could we come up with a way to fund-raise for kids who want their hair done but whose parents can't afford it?  The braider should still get paid her fee because she is earning it...but if it is hard for parents to pay for it, could we do some kind of fund raiser thing and create a fund to support them?  I feel like it should be doable.  

We could sell cool t-shirts maybe?  Artwork?  Cupcakes?  I don't know...I don't really have the time or creative energy to come up with a good idea but I can share that my good idea is that we need funds to pay braiders like Nisha to do hair for kids in our community who deserve to look and feel amazing....

Let me know if you have ideas.