As The World Remembers Nelson Mandela, We Remember That Beauty Isn’t Skin Deep.

This week Nelson Mandela passed on at the age of 95. He was a beautiful inspiration to all of us as we remember him and the grace that he embodied in the face of adversity. We sang “Free Nelson Mandela” in our 20’s and in the Boomer years, we love him for all that he has accomplished.

(CNN) -- Freedom fighter, prisoner, moral compass and South Africa's symbol of the struggle against racial oppression.

That was Nelson Mandela, who emerged from prison after 27 years to lead his country out of decades of apartheid.

He died Thursday night at age 95.

 His message of reconciliation, not vengeance, inspired the world after he negotiated a peaceful end to segregation and urged forgiveness for the white government that imprisoned him.

"As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison," Mandela said after he was freed in 1990.

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Student Suspended For Wearing Natural Hair Style

 Photo Courtesy of Click Orlando

A 12-year-old girl will be expelled from a Florida school unless she gets her hair under control, school officials have told her. Vanessa VanDyke, an honors student and violinist at the Faith Christian Academy in Orlando, tells WKMG that administrators have given her one week to decide whether to cut and shape her hair or leave the school, which she has attended since the third grade.

 More on Yahoo Shine: In Defense of Gabby Douglas' Hair

 Faith Christian Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Yahoo Shine. And VanDyke’s mother, Sabrina Kent, could not be reached for comment.

But WKMG reports that the school’s handbook includes a section on hair that says it “must be a natural color and must not be a distraction,” stating examples that include mohawks, shaved designs and rat tails. However, notes Kent, “A distraction to one person is not a distraction to another. You can have a kid come in with pimples on his face. Are you going to call that a distraction?"

 

 

Black Hair Care Products Successfully Featured In Big Box Stores

The majority of Black haircare products are purchased at major mass retailers and at beauty supply stores, not from beauty salons. This is why when you pop into a Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and even a Duane Reed or CVS you’ll see an expanded assortment of products for Black or “multi-ethnic” hair including natural, coily, curly, or even nappy hair. Yes, these large marketers have got the hots for the business of Black hair.


How did it happen? You may remember when Chris Rock released the film Good Hair in 2009 and showed the “creamy crack” market. Black women were revealed spending thousands of dollars on weaves, scorching their scalps with chemical relaxers, and  many causing damage to their hair and their psyche.

 

The film led to serious discussions by Black women of alternatives and helped usher in the movement to natural hair. Since the release of Good Hair sales of chemical relaxers have fallen more than 30-percent according to market research firm Mintel. Weave sales have also declined adds BOBSA (The Black Owned Beauty Supply Association).

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