Mixed Reactions on Sesame Street’s ‘I Love My Hair’
Sesame Street has chimed in on natural hair. In a video featuring a brown muppet singing a song titled “I Love My Hair” Sesame Street is encouraging our little sisters to love their natural tresses. The video has been posted on several websites, and blogs such as Afrobella, Fly, AfroGlitz, Essence, The Huffington Post, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
Sesame Street’s “I Love My Hair” is getting tons of buzz, both positive and negative. A post by The Fashion Bomb titled “Not Everyone Loves ‘I Love My Hair’”, referring to the video posted on Afrobella’s blog states, “ Refreshing and sweet, it’s hard to think that anyone could find fault with a nursery tune meant to positively reinforce natural hair for young children of color. But a few commenters took to Bella’s Facebook Page to complain.” The writer goes on to quote one of the comments.
There were also several negative comments on Sesame Street’s Youtube channel, but all in all the positives outweigh the negative. Sesame Street’s “I Love My Hair” is very encouraging and a wonderful message for all ages. The muppet proclaims she doesn’t need a trip to the beauty shop, because she loves what she’s got on top.
She goes on to sing, “Wear a clippy or in a bow, or let it sit in an afro. My hair looks good in a cornrow. It does so many things; you know that’s why I let it grow.” Doing so while showing off her natural hair with several accessories and hairstyles, such as an afro, cornrows, twists, and an updo. She finishes this verse with “I love my hair. I love my hair. I want to make the world aware I love my hair.” Who wouldn’t think this is a positive message?
Lyrics
Don’t need a trip to the beauty shop,
’cause I love what I got on top.
It’s curly and it’s brown and it’s right up there!
You know what I love? That’s right, my hair!
I really love my hair.
I love my hair. I love my hair.
There’s nothing else that can compare with my hair.
I love my hair, so I must declare:
I really, really, really love my hair.
Wear a clippy or in a bow
Or let it sit in an afro
My hair looks good in a cornrow
It does so many things you know, that’s why I let it grow
I love my hair, I love my hair
I love it and I have to share
I love my hair, I love my hair!
I want to make the world aware I love my hair.
I wear it up. I wear down. I wear it twisted all around.
I wear braids and pigtails too.
I love all the things my hair can do.
In barrettes or flying free, ever perfect tresses you’ll see
My hair is part of me, an awesome part of me
I really love my hair!
I Love My Hair Article Links:
Sesame Street Youtube Channel
Afrobella
The Fashion Bomb
Fly
AfroGlitz
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I love the video. So Cute.
anyway, i think this is a great video for children of all backgrounds because everyone should learn to have an appreciation for all different kinds of beauty. i also feel that if EVERYONE is taught that tightly coiled natural hair is beautiful, not just black girls, then others will be less likely to make fun of or find natural hair to be undesirable, and that black girls will be less likely to have a complex surrounding their kinky natural hair. i read some of the commentary of the people who were against the video and honestly i didn’t get it nor did i agree.
Akai was the one who sprouted the discussion and I responded to her as civilly and respectfully as I’m going to respond to you. For the most part, I agree with you on (minus you anger towards this subject, understandable, and your apparent dislike for Akai) except for the statement that black people can not be racist towards white. The textbook definition of racism is pre-judgement and hatred of someone based on race. In one of my responses to Akai, I did point out, like you that I don’t see this in the natural community, probably because i’ve known natural women to be comfortable with themselves and their race. But I have seen many black men and women as I said before, usually sporting blonde weaves and blue contacts to boot) with open hatred of white people and sometimes any race that isn’t black. There’s a YouTube clip of a news report on a white man who was beaten with a concrete brick by 4 black men simply for dating a white girl. He is still in a coma. Is this not racism? If racial roles where reversed, this would have made national news! This is one incident, but there are many daily and this negates your statement of the non-existent black towards white racism. Besides that, perphaps Akai has a looser texture than some naturals (like myself, 4b) and has never experience a single strand not, shrinkage, excessive tangling, etc. Either way, maybe you should ask her why she feels that way.
*Excuse me, the white man was dating a black girl.
Don’t be ridiculous dear, everyone, every person of every ‘race’ on this planet has the ability to be racist. It’s not just ‘white’ people who can be racist. I think (assume) what you mean to say is that because of the power imbalance inherent in the world, racism from whites, excluding of course where violence is involved, has more of an effect, more impact. We as black people can’t really oppress white people can we? Agree with the rest of your post though.
@Emelyne: I don’t know what a 4B is or what number and letter my hair is but the closest I can think to describe it would be like Chili’s from TLC but thicker and longer.
Again I appreciated the dialogue as you explained things (whys) I’d not considered, made me think and helped me understand a few other things. …and, afterall, isn’t the point of communication to bridge misunderstandings, further awareness etc.? You.are.a.class.act!
p.s. I once visited a website for natural hair (I don’t remember the name of it) and a lot of the chicks there were just…woah…not my cup. There’s a curly head spot I love where I’ve gotten great tips on home-made products as I’m trying to get away from a lot of the chemicals, ingredients etc. in store bought shampoos and conditioners.
@Sloane: Princeton journal’s definition of racism: •discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race, based solely or primarily on race.
this is an anti-racism source http://yar.ednet.ns.ca/definitions.html that i often find useful in discussions like these (there are other sources, but i like this one) because in unvarnished language, it shows why the definiton of racism you just stated doesn’t explain HOW racism works in america and how bias and prejudice are in the same family as racism but don’t have the same effects on society overall.
if you check it out and still don’t agree, then i think we should just agree to disagree. you could also do more research on the concept of racism equaling prejudice and social power on your own.
Racism:
Racism = Prejudice + Power
People often confuse racism with discrimination and prejudice, but racism is different as it includes the aspect of POWER. Any person, of any colour, can be prejudiced towards another person based on any difference between them (this is not okay, but the term used to describe it is not racism). Prejudice based on skin colour does not become racism until you add social, political, economic, ideological and institutional power. In the United States* it is white people who hold this power and have control over the education system, the banking system, the court system, the educational system, the media, and all our other institutions.
(Carvery & Bishop, 1994)
@Sloane: Thanks for the link. I still keep my definition of racism (having studied entymology) and because the root of the word (race) implies racially charged actions. This definition that you use suggests oppression, something much different, because it often has nothing to do with race and everything to due with power or lack thereof. Racism can exist on any class level, it exists outside of America, and power is not a deterrent. For example, many white people who will NEVER achieve Oprah’s status and wealth are racist towards her and while the courts are racist against minorities, she would ALWAYS win, because her money trumps their race, meaning that she could never be oppressed, unless the U.S. governement decided to steal her wealth and reinstate slavery. OJ is also another example that although racism still exists, oppression (which is what your definition is describing) could not touch him because of his level of wealth. This man was accused of murdering 2 white people and bypassed prison. Many whites that wanted him in jail only did so because they wanted to see him “punished” for having dared marry a white woman in the first place. But they could not oppress him. His money trumped their race. In today’s America, a person of color can be oppressed psycologically (by media) but only if they choose to, but choosing to stay ignorant. Yes, institutionally, blacks and minorities are oppressed, but oppression does not equal racism. Power or lack thereof was never a prerequisite for racism.
@Emelyne: Great commentary and I agree!
I find all claims that “Blacks/Asians/[insert group] can’t be racist!” to be pseudo-intellectual posturing, totally self-serving and erroneous. ..And it’s almost as if these lines are peddled to, somehow, posit the racism an African American or Latino visits on another person/group as benign or ‘not as bad’ as when a white person does the same thing.
There will be several definitions of a word and those with an agenda will either piece-meal, flat out make up their own definition, or hold tightly to the one definition out of 5 which best serves or forwards it.
@emelyne- well, i conceed that the definition of racism i subscribe to doesn’t apply every country, but i definitely think this is how racism works on a large scale in the united states. and i think oprah, o.j., and other wealthy blacks can attain some power through having money but still can an do encounter racism through segregation in high society, real estate (there are still country clubs that oprah wouldn’t be able to get into, or neighborhoods that wouldn’t welcome ANY black face), and through the justice system, as oj (eventually) experienced. if oprah or even barack and michelle obama, went out with a baseball caps and were unrecognizable in every day clothing, any one of them would be vulnerable to issues as driving while black, shopping while black, and walking while black, borne of systematic discrimination and a visceral reaction to their skin colors that no white person of any class will ever have to deal with. i don’t think power is a prerequisite for prejudice or bias, but i do think it is for racism. we just have to agree to disagree.
@ emelyne- typo city! but you get my meaning.
@Sloane: Yeah, this has been a good discussion, but we will have to agree to disagree. To me, it’s flat-out, textbook racism when one person exhibits hatred towards another because of the race (i.e. the incident of black men beating a white guy for dating a black women). True racial oppression, which I believe is what you were trying to convey as a reason why blacks and non-whites can’t be racist, exists when no matter how much money, talent, intelligence and physical strength they may have, a person (in this example, black or non-white) will still be controlled/oppressed by even the poorest, simplest, dumbest, and weakest person simply because of their race (in this example, white). This was what the civil rights movement was fought for, this type of oppression where educated, successful blacks could still be demeaned and assaulted by but receive no justice from whites. We are no longer oppressed, but racism is very much alive. Many whites hate minorities. Many Hispanics hate or look down on blacks, as do some Asians. White people don’t even need to be in the mix for racism to take place. In this era, where money and smarts can buy a person (regardless of race) material items as well as justice, status, and power, that person can only be discriminated on based on race (i.e. a victim of racism), not a victim of oppression.
well, this is where you and disagree, i characterize racism as a system of oppression, and most people who have the power to oppress based on race in american society are white people,because they have control over the educational system, banking system, the court system,the media, and all our other institutions.
i don’t believe that racial oppression stopped after the civil rights movement. poc can be wealthy and powerful and still be subject to visceral racial discrimination based on systematic and historical racism, that a white person no matter what class they come from will experience or will be suceptible to. if oprah is driving and is unrecognizable she could be subject to driving while black, discrimination where the police, a part of the justice system, systematically racially profile and discriminate against drivers with black skin, while the poorest white person will never know what that is or experience it. they might be discriminated against by the justice system, educational system, educational system, or media for being poor, but they won’t be discriminated against by any people in control of these institutions for their skin color. i think prejudice and bias between all races exists and can have a negative affect, but when you inject the social power that white people have it becomes racism, because it can affect the lives of all poc, no matter their status, in society.
* i meant- that a white person no matter what class they come from will never experience nor will be susceptible to.
these are also examples of what i’m talking about, racism towards blacks in the banking industry. a kind of systematic discrimination based on race that white people will never have to encounter. http://www.southernstudies.org/2006/06/study-finds-mortgage-discrimination.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6233K020100304.
@Sloane: I thought we’d already agreed to disagree. As far as I’m concerned, what you are describing is oppression, not racism, two different things which can live independently (men can oppress women and that has nothing to do with race). I believe there is racism in America and worldwide, and that all races are capable of it. You do not. I’ve said my piece and I have checked out your links, so please stop trying to “convince” me that non-whites cannot be racist; I simply see too mnay examples of racism (usually not involving whites at all) everyday to believe that. I also know that racism and oppression have 2 different definitions and I do not intertwine the 2, unless it is a case of racially fueled oppression, which is what your links seem to be describing to me. I believe that a person does not need to have the power to oppress you in or to discriminate or hate you (i.e. make you a victim of racism.) You don’t. I’m not trying to change your viewpoint, but I will not change mine.
@Emelyne: Ditto for the 2nd time!
There is zero truth to the line that minorities can’t be racist simply because they have no ‘power’!
Making up a definition on-the-fly or redefining the word to one’s liking by throwing the word “power” into it’s definition, and/or insisting racism is dependent on it, is a self-serving move and, like, Top 5 on the How To Be A Victim chart.
Outside of it being extremely base, kindergarten and basically a line of bull people use to sugarcoat and insinuate non-white racism (what they choose to call prejudice) is not as bad, or more noble, because it is a reaction to white racism…it’s easily debunked.
In addition to re-posting other comments I’d previously written regarding this subject a while ago, the following are just a few cases (there are more) of lawsuits won due to black racism (or condoning it via inaction); in these cases they, indeed, had the “power” to affect a person’s job, future and livelihood:
-Federal jury awards South Carolina teacher $307,000 in racial harassment suit (2006)
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/settlements/07776/hostile-workplace.html
-Federal jury awards New York youth worker $150,000 in racial discrimination suit (2007)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294243,00.html
-Two more South Carolina teachers awarded $75,000 in racial hostility suits (2007)
http://www.rrhlawfirm.com/News-Notable-Cases/Former-Rivers-Middle-teacher-settles-lawsuit.shtml
Any honest individual that has ever listened to some of the New Black Panther Party, Farrakhan or the NOI’s rhetoric (“white devils,” Yacub, “false jews” etc. etc. etc.) will admit the truth that some of them have a hatred and intolerance and feel themselves racially superior to whites. A more recent example is the incident of Essence’s EIC Angela Burt-Murray hiring the non-black Ellliana Placas since many people flat-out stated that Murray should have only hired an African America, ergo, use her ‘power’ to discriminate.
One of my BFFs from college works at the DOJ. We were writing this piece and I was astonished at the numbers we looked over. Whites make of 68% of this country’s population and commit 61% of the hate crimes (-7% under their population percentage). AAs make up 12% of America’s population yet commit 20% of hate crimes (+8% over their population percentage).
No doubt the mere stating of this truth is “racist” according to any small-minded individual, but IMO anyone that can take another’s life or vandalize their property has some type of power, if only for a moment.
emelyne- i’m not trying to convince you of anything. i’m speaking my piece, which i’m entitled to do. interesting point of view you have, but we simply don’t see things through the same lens.
ummm 61% percent is still FORTY ONE percent more then 20%. and 72.9 % of hate crime victims of racial bias in 2008 were black in comparison to 16.8 % of victims being white. either way you view the statistics whites still perpetrate THE MOST amount of racially biased crimes and most victims of racially based hate crimes are black. STILL proves my point that racism has the most pervasive affect overall on people of color. whats immature, or “juvenile” is trying to twist the implication of hard numbers to suit your specious reasoning.
and some people would do well to address their reading comprehension problem, because in unvarnished language i plainly stated
prejudice or bias from poc is just as bad but the affects of both ARE NOT THE SAME. and i’m sorry but if anyone with two brain cells to rub together looked at the current social construct of race in america, who orchestrated it? why would poc come up with a hierachy of race that would PLACE THEM AT THE BOTTOM? so yes, black prejudice and bias towards white people came from BEING ENSLAVED AND TREATED AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS. it didn’t come of a vacuum, and black bias and prejudice towards whites is f**king reaction to white racism. it does that make it better? no, but that’s where it comes from and what difference does it make where it comes from? it still won’t have the same affect.
and black supremacist groups are just a facile derailing tactic because their brand of prejudice preaching black supremacy never had and never will have the power to affect social policy in a fashion that will positively benefit them for generations in the government, the banking system, the educational system, the justice system, real estate, and the media but many WHITE supremacist groups certainly did have an affect on social policy and their prejudice had an negative affect on the everyday lives of all black people in america, which carries on till today, often in more insidious forms, such as in one of articles i cited which describes THE BANKING INDUSTRY, not just individuals, as a result of ingrained, systematic, and historical racism against blacks,”discriminating with a smile.”
and isolated incidents of prejudice from poc of color still aren’t comparable to systematic racism and oppression.
*Unrelated to the above discussion on racism*
NPR interviewed the muppeteer who wrote the song “I love my hair.” He is a white father of an adopted black daughter. His daughter is 4 years old and since she was 2 she told him and her white mother that she wanted her hair to look like their hair; blonde and straight.
HE TOLD HIS DAUGHTER THAT HER HAIR WAS BEAUTIFUL THE WAY IT WAS. He did that song for his daughter because he wanted to reinforce what he told her. Not sure how people can dislike a father showing his daughter how beautiful she is, but I have seen other ass backwards things.
On the other hand…
I just took a look at this video and the comments are atrocious! Who the hell would thumbs up this comment..
MUJAHIDEEN7860 –
“its funny a white man came up with this idea sadly its non blacks who have to tell black people to love themselves”
It’s this type of ignorant ish that pisses me off our society!
[...] CNN and there are loads of comments all over You Tube, Facebook and Twitter, both positive and negative. The You Tube video has gotten nearly 800,000 hits and now Willow Smith, Will Smith’s [...]
[...] And let’s close things out with a super-adorable song from Sesame Street: “I Love My Hair,” which encourages young girls of color to love their hair, as is, without the use of chemicals, dyes, straight irons, and other miscellaneous “beauty” aids (read: torture devices). You can read an interview with songwriter Joey Mazzarino, who wrote the song for his young daughter, at the Huffington Post. For those who cannot view the video, here are the lyrics (via Clutch Magazine): [...]
@Emelyne
You bringing up Oprah and O.J. is a classic example of derailment that had NOTHING to do with the point and you just obviously HAD to get that off your chest and any old excuse will do!! You don’t seem however too put off by the fact that there are countless insatnces of white cops who are NOT rich getting away with killing innocent,unarmed black people. How much cash money you want to bet that NEVER happens in reverse that comes from DUH systematic oppression based racism! And what the hell did you expect anyway?! What you call racism from blacks I call Karma bitting you in the big fat ass!! The fact you don’t like getting a taste of your own medicine should be of little concern or consequence to who you are getting it from.
I did not bring up O.J. and Oprah to “derail” anything or get something off my chest. I brought them up as an example of how racism, not oppression, still exist in America. %0 years ago, regardless of money, OJ would have been hung and Oprah would have never had a hit show. Yes, I am aware (obviously) that white cops are killing innocent people, but again that is racism because it it their status as a cop that gives them such power and if that black person had enough power/brains/money, those cops would pay. Let’s not pretend that blacks do not commit hate crimes toward whites by calling it “karma”. Racism is racism and crime is crime. By your logic, women should be killing men for our foremothers years of oppression and it’d be their “karma”. Also, as I pointed out to Sloane, racism can exist with no white people present. I never said that oppression did not exist, merely that racism and oppression are not the same thing. Whites needing to get a “taste of their own medicine” is also completely ludicrous because present day whites had nothing to do with slavery and it it currently blacks that commit the most crimes towards blacks, all while living in a country where education (if not opportunity) is available. That’s true oppression to me. No one owes anyone anything except respect and we cannot blame an entire nation for individual, past actions. Black people as a whole need to move on, better ourselves with knowledge and stop blaming whites and deflecting. Obviously, you are the one who needs to get something off your chest.
*50 years ago