Shame On Us! - Gabrielle Douglas

As many little girls jumped up and down and screamed with glee on August 2, 2012 at the sight of Gabby Douglas, many grown women took to Facebook and Twitter to complain about Gabby Douglas’s hair. I am almost ashamed to say that the majority of the women that I personally saw criticizing Douglas’s tresses were fellow black women.  If you are/were one of them, shame on you.

Gabrielle Douglas for anyone who does not know is now the 2012 individual all-around gold medal Olympic champion!!! This young lady is amazing!!! She is the definition of an inspiration, I am 25 years old and I can say that I look up to Gabby. That night which should have been a unifying and proud moment for most African-Americans, instead quickly turned into a “black hair” discussion. Now I am not sure if I am more upset that these were other black women or that this topic is still an issue.

Let me address the people (especially the sistas) who criticized Douglas’s hair. First of all, these are the Olympics, not the Miss. America pageant! This is a sporting event where young men and women are judged on their athletic ability, not their wardrobe (in this case) or their makeup, and certainly not their hair! Gabby Douglas went out there in that Olympic arena and gave the performance of her life. She was sweating, her heart was pounding, and she was thriving!! To say the least her hair got “messed up”. Why is that such a big deal in our community!?  As a woman, yet alone a black woman, you should understand this point (and if not maybe you should consider doing some sort of physical exercise yourself). This girl is 16 years old; she was concerned with her performance not what type of hair do she was sporting. I find it so disheartening that other black women and girls could be so cruel especially since most of us have had a bad experience with this topic.

Secondly, the fact that this whole “good” hair “bad” hair topic is still an issue really makes me nuts! I get it, to have more European features (including) hair is usually considered “good”, but how long are we going to hold onto that? It’s time to move on and let it go. I’m sure most would say what do I know, and honestly I know a lot. Growing up I was too black for the whites and too white for the blacks, I am not complaining just stating that for the record I understand the torment of not fitting in. My people and others, we have to let this issue go. All of our hair is different, our skin is different, our eyes and the list goes on.

Please let Ms. Douglas delight in this moment and be proud of her accomplishments as the first African-American in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champion, as well as the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics. Hair is the least of our issues; please let’s start acting like it.

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