Afro textured hair, in the United States society, has been generally seen has negative. It is commonly known as kinky or nappy. Many synonyms for these words are bizarre, crazy, weird, and funky. Blacks have been ironing their kinks out since the ultimate integration of blacks and whites. African American women should not have to be pressured to dislike and change their hair because it's not considered to society's standard of beautiful. 

At the beginning of slavery, blacks came over with very elaborate hair styles. Transitioning to America, they lost their traditional grooming habits, of using combs and herbal remedies, to bacon grease, butter, and kerosene. Unlike darker slaves, mixed slaves were considered of high quality because of their lighter skin and better hair. It could be assumed that they were in demand based off of their looks, which closely resembled their masters.

It can be unbelievable the lengths black women go alter their hair to make it look straight. It started in the late 1800's to the early 1900's, with the rise of the hot comb and Madame CJ Walker. This was the beginning of viable products to "treat" kinky hair. Many believed this was a movement to better assimilate to a white society. From then to now, there were a few popular ways African American women got their hair to be smooth. The most famous, and destructive, way are perms and relaxers. Sodium hydroxide and other chemicals sit on their hair and scalp to alter their hair to become more "tame." This allows for the hair to be easily pressed. While this is used to have the hair more "manageable", relaxers destroy it and can cause irreversible damage. The chemicals used for this process can melt a soda can in less than 6 hours. Yet, this process is not a one time thing, it has to be repeated. Second, the less permanent route is apply heat, up to 450 degrees, to flatten kinks out. While this does not chemically alter the hair, long term use can cause bad damage just as harmful as perming. The non-harming way of achieving straight hair is by using weave or extensions. Though this cannot harm, the ways these techniques are applied can cause the same effects, by using glue. All three ways have negative implications that do not have positive longevity.

Marcus Garvey once said, "Take down the pictures of white women from your walls elevate your own women to that place of honor they are for the most part the burden bears of the race Mothers give your children dolls that look like them to play with and cuddle they will learn as they grow older to love and care for their own children and not neglect them Men and Women God made us as his perfect creation he made no mistake when he made us black with kinky hair…… Now take these kinks out of your mind instead of your hair." Women such as Trace Ellis Ross, Jill Scott, and India Arie pioneered the modern natural hair movement. It's not just afro and cornrows anymore. Twists, locs, and braids all accompany the wide variety of styles and ways women have grown to express their natural hair. Many women transitioning from a lifestyle of perms to their own hair often use the phrase, "going natural." While many natural hair enthusiasts call it "going back to natural." Youtube has been used as a gateway for black women to find alternative ways to style their hair, while not using damaging techniques. It's becoming more accepting of tiny afros and twist outs. And on the rise are the questions, "Can I touch your hair?" and "Why does your hair shrink when water touches it?"

The goal is to create the idea that black womens hair is acceptable straight, curly, kinky, or nappy without being judged. Black women are obsessed with their hair enough to fuel the billion dollar industry that provides them with the myriad of products that fill their bathrooms. Every African American woman tries to find the key to keeping her hair manageable and looking right. Every women has a vice with their hair, but let's not pressure her into doing something damaging, but rather positive.

When Africans were brought over to America, they had to adopted their masters language and culture by threat. They were not allowed to speak their own language, practice their religion, or carry out their cultures. Since they were forced to conform, those parts of their identities had to be weaved among their superiors', which in turn created Black English or African American Vernacular (AAVE). Like many cultures who migrated to the US, before and after the times of slavery, had to adapt and make their own 'broken' English in order to communicate among those who had power. In turn, there should not be subcategories of a language that are considered lesser values compared to the initial one, specifically Black English.

The connotations of AAVE are widely negative. It's associated with poverty, poor education, and incarceration. AAVE, Black English, and Ebonics are terms to describe this topic, which allows these words to be interchangeable. Black English - Free Dictionary;  Any of the nonstandard varieties of English spoken by Black people throughout the world. Merriam-Webster; A nonstandard variety of English spoken by some African Americans - called also Black English Vernacular. Oxford Dictionary; Any various nonstandard forms of English spoken by black people, especially as an urban dialect in the US. Now, let's define American English. Free Dictionary; The English language as used in the United States. Merriam-Webster; the English language as spoken in the United States. Oxford Dictionary; the English language as spoken in the US. These definitions describe the language as a nonstandard way of English being spoken by blacks, primarily in urban areas. American English is just described as a language particular to the United States. There is no such term as White English.

By some perspectives, Ebonics can be expected of blacks and African Americans. In some instances, when blacks do not uphold this "expectation" it's assumed they are the opposite of the negative connotations mentioned. When speaking "proper" English, it can be assumed that they are educated and not inclined to mischief. Speaking "proper" is additionally associated with be referred to as an Oreo. Black skin on the outside, white tendencies on the inside. "…To suggest that all black people talk like ignorant hood rats and that all white people pronounce every word with conviction, clarity and authority, is severely misguided and ill-informed." said in Christopher Norris' article "You're Black; So Why do you talk White?"  While his statement recognizes the ignorance of both sides of the argument, he brought up a solid point on the expectations of both sides.

Many controversies revolve around if Ebonics is a language in of itself or a dialect. In James Baldwin's 'If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?' he explains the point of his essay to be about the power of language. "Language, also, far more dubiously, is meant to define the other – and, in this case, the other is refusing to be defined by a language that has never been able to recognize him." Baldwin mentions a form of hegemony. Hegemony meaning the dominant authority or influence of a society. “It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power.” In this essay he extrapolates the idea that language has used to demean African Americans and their descendants. He starts by defining the use of language and how it’s used to evolve with the ever changing times. It is used as a way to articulate one’s self, to be able to tell about their new reality or circumstances. He said that different realities have different ways of articulating themselves, which requires different types of speech. “A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey.” Different reality, different language.

Considering slaves were in a different reality than their takers, their new language became and evolved into Black English. Their reality was oppression, ostracization, and poverty. “Black English is the creation of the black diaspora.” Baldwin means that, AAVE stemmed out of the dispersed variety of Africans that came to America, that created a way to communicate not only among each other, but to communicate their reality.

After almost one hundred and fifty years, since the abolition of the institution of slavery, those who were a part of the system had no means to return to their homeland. They did not have one after generations of slavery. They were now the scum of America looking for ways to thrive. Fast forward seventy years, African Americans fought to to have the same rights and privileges of everyone else. After so much strife in a country they did not want to come to in the first place, why should African Americans today be patriotic to the country that forcely took them against their will?

Let us define patriotism to the United States. The willingness to sacrifice for one's country by military, monetary, or emotional, means. Volunteering one's life, body, and mind for serving the enemy of their country. Sponsoring the country in terms of any war. The war on poverty, hunger, or the country that wants to "take over the world." Emotionally, you feel for the tragedies that happen on/at your country. The natural disasters, the infidel president, and the horrific tragedies Americans do to their own country. Americans have a way of being patriotic. It is different everywhere. There is a general consensus of supporting our troops. The South and Midwest than most places. Metropolitan areas less so. Emma Goldman described the army and navy to "represent the people's toys." Well, America salutes their toys. And they support Americans tragedies, ebb and flow with everyone's emotions.

African Americans have helped in America's own endeavors. Other than slavery of course, it started with the Civil War, black slaves fought for both sides though their owners did not want to armed them to prevent insubordination. The president at the time, George Washington, had to lift a ban on drafting blacks to increase rank numbers. Free African Americans could not initially fight. Like the Civil war there was a similar situation. Toward World War I and II, blacks were not given much opportunity to fight. During the times of WWI and WWII the widespread of racism prevented African Americans to do the lot of freedoms blacks have today. Suffrage, riding public transportation freely, learning in the same classroom as whites, live in the same neighborhoods, eat in the same places, enter the same door to an establishment, separate restrooms and drinking fountains, legally marry whoever they wanted, look at who they wanted. From now, that was only fifty to sixty years ago.

At what point did Africans become Americans? Was it when they were considered three fifths of a person by the constitution? Are blacks given privilege to stay on the soil of America or is it a right? Blacks were given the right to vote in 1965. Yet the bill to enact that law has to be voted on every several years. Each time the Act was going to expire Congress extended the Act and black activists along the way have influenced to support to Act and strengthen it. It was established by the Republic of Liberia for African Americans, of justifiable African lineage, to have citizenship in Africa. Yet that does not solve the problem of blacks getting to know their exact lineage to a tribe. After generations of rape and intermixing, most African Americans don't and will never know where they actually came from; while other races can define what country and specific culture they come from. African Americans today have a culture defined by what their ancestors had to make due with on plantations. African culture and language was saturated by their quest to survive and acclimate quickly to their takers. American names, American culture, American language, American religion, American food. It is no surprise the slaves did not migrate so far from the South, the highest concentration of slavery.

Barack Obama is now the leader of the United States of America and as of the 2012 presidential election, ninety-three percent of African Americans voted for him. While some politicians and their constituents do not agree on his legitimacy of citizenship. But, that is because he does not resemble past presidents. Blacks, negroes, and African Americans have come a long way in representing themselves in politics, education, and other prominent professions. Generations after the Civil Rights Movement, there is still subtle racism in some parts United States and in other parts, it is a bit more face forward. Though there is a stigma among blacks to not speak "proper english" and are privy to a certain meat made a certain way, blacks choose whether to be offended by or oppressed by the prominent race. To be patriotic could be supporting the country that stripped their ancestors of everything which put their future generations stuck in a country by default. Never being able to identify with a specific culture or country. Being patriotic to this country could mean celebrating the chance they were given to stay and being given rights they deserved since their existence in America. It depends on how one looks at it. Celebrate the delayed good, or the over arching bad.