All posts tagged: happy to be nappy

MC Elis – 6 year old Brazilian musical artist

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This young girl is over here singing about: Loving her natural hair: it’s NOT dry/hard, it’s her crown as a queen Being sick of racism Pride in her Blackness: referring to herself explicitly as Black (preta) rather than one of the endless other terms that refer to color (mulata, moreninha) but try to maintain distance from being of African descent. Also, peep the black panther on her shirt! Go dance with Elis! LYRICS Vem dançar com a elis Vem dançar com a elis Aqui não tem caô Só chegar e ser feliz Eu já estou cansada Dessa ideia de racismo Eu não tô de mimimi Fale o que quiser nem ligo O meu cabelo não é duro Ele é crespo e muito lindo Vou passar logo a visão Tá incomodado comigo? Vem dançar com a elis Vem dançar com a elis Aqui não tem caô Só chegar e ser feliz E não venha com esse papo de mulata e moreninha Sou preta com muito orgulho Minha coroa é de rainha (Note: some of they lyrics …

Gritaram-Me Negra! [They Shouted, Black Girl!]

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**Tinha sete anos apenas, [I was only seven years old] apenas sete anos, [only seven years old] Que sete anos! [what seven years?!] Não chegava nem a cinco! [I wasn’t even five!] De repente umas vozes na rua [when suddenly some voices in the street] me gritaram Negra! [shouted, “black girl!”] Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra! [Black! Black!…] “Por acaso sou negra?” – me disse (SIM!) [“Am I really black?” — I said, (YES!)] “Que coisa é ser negra?” (NEGRA!) [“What’s it mean to be black?” (BLACK!)] E eu não sabia a triste verdade que aquilo escondia. (NEGRA!) [And I didn’t know the sad truth that it hid (BLACK!).] E me senti negra, (NEGRA!) [And I felt black, (BLACK!)] Como eles diziam (NEGRA!) [Like they said (BLACK!)] E retrocedi (NEGRA!) [And I retreated (BLACK!)] Como eles queriam (NEGRA!) [Like they wanted (BLACK!)] E odiei meus cabelos e meus lábios grossos [And I hated my hair and my thick lips] e olhei vergonha da minha pele torrado [and I was ashamed of my toasted skin] E retrocedi (NEGRA!) [I retreated …

Why I Love/Hate Travelling

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I decided around graduation that I would do the irresponsible thing that twenty-somethings do, and travel instead of looking for a job. To be fair, I’m only gone for about a month, I’m visiting my boyfriend, and I’m in a country I’ve been to two other times now, as opposed to backpacking through Europe and staying in hostels. The latter I would probably do if I had more money saved up, but since I worked for free all semester at an internship instead of making chump change every two weeks doing surveys, this is where I am. I bought my plane ticket the night before graduation and left ten days later; first spur of the moment trip I’ve ever taken. I love travelling, I love going to new places, I love eating new foods and seeing beautiful sights. My dream is to find a job where I can be paid to do that–but I think you actually have to be a chef or willing to eat damn near anything and shout to have a food …