The One Brown Girl Challenge

Meet my new friend Maria (second from left), her sisters and their mom.  (Waving wildly.)  Same parents, same DNA.  Different shades of skin.  Love-uh-lee.

"Brown Girls have skin that comes in every shade: From cocoa to tan to honey to onyx to olive to cinnamon and back again. Our eyes are shaped like almonds and coconuts and mimic the colors of maple syrup, tanzanite and the deep blue sea.  For OBG...'being Brown' isn't about how brown our skin is or isn't. It's about cultural identity and pride and feeling good about the skin we're in!  Isn't Brown beautiful?!?!?"  [Source:  About OBG]

"And our hair! Brown Girls have hair that is as Black as coal, as Brown as the earth, as Blonde as the sunshine, and as Red as fire. Sometimes it's Short, Long or In Between and then of course it could be Coarse, Curly, Wavy or Bone Straight."  [Source:  About OBG]

The subject of hair (and skin tone) is very tender for some.  As women of color, we aren't always satisfied with our tresses and sometimes grow up believing that our hair isn't straight enough or long enough or soft enough or...I dunno...just not enough.  And if you're an African-American Brown Girl or of African descent or even a Brown Girl with lots of fabulous bushy hair that you never liked, well then...don't e-ven get me started.  So when I saw the Sesame Street video below, I instantly fell in love with the song and the message behind it and I've been singing ever since:  I love my haaa iii rrrr!  I love my haaa iiii rrrrr!  And I challenge you to love yours too!  =)

P.S.  This post has been syndicated on BlogHer!!  Wahooooooooooooooo!
P.P.S.  First, BlogHer syndication; now there's a remix of the Sesame Street video featuring Whip My Hair by Willow Smith.  LOL.  This is awesome!