#65. A Bad Manicure

A billion dollar industry

Black women spend countless hours and billions of dollars a year because their own hair is unacceptable to them. Korean entrepreneurs reap the benefits of this mane-madness, owning a virtual monopoly on the industry from distributorship to the shops that Black women frequent (entrepreneurship and the depressing ratio of Korean-to-Black new business starts will be discussed later this month): 

Today, there are over 9,000 Korean-owned beauty supply stores serving a billion dollar market for Black hair. Between manufacturing, distributing and selling these hair care products, Korean entrepreneurs appear to control all major components. Ranen was inspired to make his documentary because of what he saw as the injustice of unfair business practices.


“It’s really about allowing black manufacturers to get inside the distribution channel,” he said.  “‘I mean, if you ask me, ‘what is your vision for the future?’”  Well, right away, it’s a 100 black-owned stores opening up right next to Korean stores – a boycott until the Korean stores accept at least 20% black-owned manufactured products. Then we are talking about money in the community.”

We will learn later this week why Black entrepreneurs have yet to fill this void (it deals with a variety of factors, lest of which is a solid credit rating and receiving a loan).

It should be stated that this predilection for grooming ones hair utilizing aberrant methods has enriched many of the Black women working in the salon industry, those who have yet to sell their shops to immigrant entrepreneurs.

Multiple trips a month to the beauty salon help Black women perfect a hair style that is completely unnatural, but the desire to part with large amounts of money for the straightest locks has a match in the affections market for Black style.

No Black woman is complete without fake nails – preferably acrylic – and the desire to have the longest, most pretentious, colorful and ostentatious talons in the neighborhood drives them to endure torturous and expensive visits to the manicurists.

With Korean entrepreneurs providing the bulk of the services to these Black women delirious with notion of affixing Wolverine-like claws upon the end of their phalanges, a veritable cottage industry has arisen that has helped one segment of the population build-up savings while preying upon a narcissistic segment with an average net worth of $5 dollars.

Income inequality exists for a reason and the vainglorious obsession with fastening mini-knives upon ones fingers is a clear indicator of a luxury purchase as opposed to a need for Black people. Such Hate Facts are of trivial concern to a community that spends billions each year making their hair straight and white-looking and gluing protruding weapons of mini destruction upon their fingers.

68 percent of Black women say they buy because it makes them feel good and yet the finished product of using women’s hair from India and the procuring of acrylic nails as a fashion statement should raise serious questions about their fashion sense.

Attempts to scale back the dependence that Black women have on Korean-owned manicure shops have been greeted with an increased desire to have their nails done regardless of the implications of failing to buy Black.

In fact, the self-esteem boost Black women get from a trip to the manicurist is only equaled by their animosity at receiving a bad manicure:

A Volusia County woman was arrested after several 911 calls were made complaining about a bad manicure.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says on Sunday Cynthia Colston, 44, from Deltona, was fighting with her nail technician at Central Nails on Elkcam Boulevard in Deltona because she apparently didn’t like the length of her nails.

Woman arrested for calling 911 to complain about manicure: MyFoxORLANDO.com

During the fight the nail technician was slightly injured but it was Colston who called Volusia County Sherriffs deputies to the salon.

Not to be outdone, one portly Black woman was charged extra for her visit to a manicurist because her corpulence stressed the weight capacity of the chair she sat in:

It's normal practice for nail salons to charge for extra designs and services, but what about extra weight? According to WSB TV, that was exactly the case for Michelle Fonville. The Georgia woman received a startling surprise after receiving a manicure, pedicure and eyebrow arch from Natural Nails in Dekalb County, Georgia, when the owner tacked on an extra $5 dollars to her bill for being overweight.

Salon manager Kim Tran explained to Fonville that the extra fee was meant to cover the cost of replacing the $2,500 salon chair, in the chance that it broke.

"I said, Ma'am, you can't charge me $5 more. That's discrimination because of my weight," Fonville told WSB TV.

According to the salon owner, the chairs are only meant to withstand 200 pounds and anything above that weight has the potential to damage the chairs.

"Do you think that's fair when we take $24 [for manicure and pedicure] and we have to pay $2,500? Is that fair? No," said Tran in her defense. Tran has since refunded Fonville her $5 and told her to take her business elsewhere.

Fonville, who was close to tears when given the news, would like more customers to learn about the salon's unfair practices.

"The word has to get out there that these people are discriminating against us because of our weight," she said. "I mean come on, we're in America. You can't do that."

For those paying attention, if dietary habits continue unabated then in 30 years all Black women in America will be considered morbidly obese. Those extra dollars for straining the integrity of the manicurists chair will add up quickly for Korean-owned stores and stress the already dwindling bank accounts of image-obsessed Black women.

Worse, that $5 dollars could have represented her entire net worth.

With the amount of time, energy and money invested into their nails, Black women can scarcely tolerate a bad manicure. Lining the bank accounts of Korean immigrants with yet another visit to their shop is simply out of question as it should be obvious what is the next entry into the Stuff Black People Don’t Like.

The so-called jezebel or diva look is believed to be universally applicable to Black women, and a bad manicure threatens to sabotage en entire industry.

Woman arrested for calling 911 to complain about manicure: MyFoxORLANDO.com

#262. Onus on Barbershops

At a time when Black unemployment is rising to unprecedented levels, one is hard-pressed to come up with any viable vocational alternatives for those out-of-work or underemployed. Levels of Black unemployment were reaching 25-year highs back in January, now they approach a critical stage that might require the involvement of the United Nations to decide if this represents a Human Rights violation:

Well, the nation-wide suffering for African Americans has just intensified with the recent unemployment data delivered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's most recent report showed that while white unemployment only went up from 8.6 percent to 8.7 percent, black unemployment went up from 15.6 percent to 16.3 percent. This increase is at a rate that is 700 percent higher than the increase for white Americans.

The numbers tell an interesting and sad story about the forgotten economic hardships being felt by black people all across America. First, black unemployment is nearly double that of white Americans. While the rest of America finds itself screaming in pain over unemployment rates between eight and nine percent, black America is asked to remain silent about unemployment rates as high as 15 - 16 percent. While U.S. government officials are not acknowledging African American economic hardship, the United Nations is. As of April, the UN announced that it is investigating whether consistent black unemployment in America is a human rights violation…

The worst group of all are black teenagers. Their unemployment rate already stood at a startling 40.6 percent last month. This month, it rose to 45.4 percent, which is not only the highest unemployment figure of any group, it is also 90 percent higher than the unemployment rate for white teenagers, which held steady with a modest increase from 23.5 percent to 23.8 percent.

One can look at the rate of Black teenage unemployment as a distressing sign for the future job prospects of Black people once they reach adulthood. The truth of Black unemployment is probably far worse than anyone could imagine considering the high rates of incarceration and dependence on the government to subsist through the deft redistribution of tax-funds and, more importantly, job creation.

Job creation under the auspices Black Run America (BRA) comes in many forms, most importantly in the overrepresentation of Black people in the public sector. In spite of the existence of BRA, Black unemployment continues to lurch upward; shocking when one considers the inherent value proposition that a diverse workforce provides, according to a multitude of major corporations and colleges that promote – above all else – the unremitting importance of both a Black presence and Black involvement in every aspect of 21^st century life.

Why do Black people find employment so difficult to maintain when a position with the government (Federal, State or Local) is all but assured and guaranteed in BRA? The answer might be available in the US Department of Labor’s recent Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity 2009 report:

In general, the labor market problems experienced by Blacks and Hispanics are associated with many factors, not all of which are measurable. Some of these factors include a tendency to be employed in occupations with high levels of unemployment, lower average levels of schooling, greater concentration in the central cities of urban areas where job opportunities may be relatively limited, and the likelihood of discrimination in the workplace. These factors and others may help explain the acute labor market difficulties Blacks and Hispanics encounter, especially during economic downturns.

From this report, we learn the top 10 occupations in America with the largest percentage of Black employment (for those wondering, the lowest is here):

1. Barbers—35.0%

2. Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides—34.0%

3. Residential advisors—29.6%

4. Security guards and gaming surveillance officers—28.6%

5. Postal service clerks-28.3%

6. Baggage porters, bellhops, and concierges—27.1%

7. Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators—26.4%

8. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs—25.7%

9. Bus drivers—24.9%

10. Parking lot attendants—24.4%

Outside of the United States Postal Service, all of these private-sector fields of employment yield high growth potential and an obvious financial windfall befalling those Black people who pursue these illustrious vocations. Better still, the performance requirement for none of these jobs require an overabundance of education.

The US Postal Service (a virtual jobs program for Black people) continues to lose billions, though the outstanding contributions of the Black employees are routinely highlighted as a source of great pride, despite the looming threat of insolvency and the potential displacement of those Black employees:

“We view diversity as a winning business strategy and use it as a tool to deliver results,” said Susan LaChance, vice president, Employee Development and Diversity. “It makes good business sense.”

Forty percent of postal employees are minorities as compared to 32.8 percent in other federal agencies. Fifteen percent of executives are African-Americans. The Postal Service employs approximately 124,000 African-Americans, 52,000 Hispanics, 50,000 Asians, 1,300 native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders and nearly 4,000 American Indian/Alaska Natives.

One can only laugh at a company that continues to trumpet its racially diverse workforce at a time when it posts billion dollars losses; all on the tax payer’s dime.

It appears that any stimulus plan to benefit Black people and create sorely needed jobs must start in the one industry that is already a vocational path for many Black people and a constant source of community pride and entrepreneurial activity –the barbershop.

Though they might not like their own hair, Black people find a trip to the barbershop or hair salon a necessity of life and important monthly ritual:

Barbershops are a pulse of black America — a place where the frankness of what the men and women who frequent them say is exceeded only by the passion with which they speak. They are one of the places white politicians should go to gauge the thinking of black America. And they ought to be the sounding board for any black politician who wants to do more than just pay lip service to the idea of representative government.

"When you leave the barbershop, you look better, but you also want to feel better," the elderly owner of Randolph-Wright's fictional barbershop says. I know what he means.

In France, the bourgeois once spent their time in salons debating important issues of the day. Black people gather in the local hair salon to discuss these issues:

“To fully appreciate the political thought and action of African Americans, it is imperative to understand that these interactions are more than social. They are the spaces where African Americans jointly develop understandings of their collective interests and create strategies to navigate the complex political world,” wrote Harris-Lacewell in her forthcoming book, Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, to be published in March by Princeton University Press.

The conversations reveal ideologies, which are tied to black intellectual traditions and linked to African-American public opinion, she said.

Harris-Lacewell was joined in her work by graduate student Quincy Mills, a black male doctoral candidate in History, who spent four months hanging out in an African-American barbershop on Chicago’s South Side to listen to the patrons’ conversations.

“They talked about white power structures and the relationship of African Americans to the state and to capitalism. They critiqued black leaders, discussed the political power of the black church, argued about reparations and cheered on African-American Olympic athletes,” Harris-Lacewell said.

The 2002 film Barbershop inadvertently showed why high unemployment rates are found in the Black community, conversely showing the importance of the barbershop – both culturally and economically – to the Black community:

On a cold winter Saturday in Chicago, Calvin Palmer, Jr. (Ice Cube) decides he's had enough of trying to keep open the barbershop his father handed down to him. He can't borrow enough money to keep the place open, it's not bringing in enough revenue, and he's more interested in coming up with get-rich-quick schemes to bring in easy money. Without telling his employees or the customers, Calvin sells his barbershop to a greedy loan shark named Lester Wallace (Keith David), who lies about keeping the place the same and suddenly makes plans to turn the place into a strip club.

Sadly, the barbershop cannot supply an unlimited number of jobs and careers to an increasingly beleaguered segment of the Black community, who find themselves separated from their former vocations.

The undue stress on barbershop owners to shoulder the job creations burden for jobless Black people when a multitude of other vocations apparently lack the alacrity for diversity that the public sector maintains is worrying and a major cause for concern when considering their future job prospects.

Of course, one look at the jobs that Hispanics perform with the highest percentages should provide enough fodder for an immigration reform movement to arise among Black people. A direct correlation should be obvious between high Black unemployment and high levels of illegal and legal immigration, though those bemoaning the continued proliferation of out-of-work Black people steadfastly refuse to acknowledge or even discuss.

Thus, the onus is on Barbershops to continue to support the dreams and aspirations of Black people everywhere. They must continue to the bedrock of Black employment, a place where a haircut is only one facet of the job performed, and the center of cultural vitality of the community.

If not, what industry will pick up the slack?

Stuff Black People Don’t Like includes the onus on barbershops, the primary industry that must continue to off-set the high rates of Black unemployment. Without barbershops, one can only shudder at the high rates of Black people who would be considered not economically viable and worsening the bleak economic outlook for Black employment.

But barbershops cannot shoulder the load forever. The United Nations already questions the potential human rights violation inherent in the high unemployment rates for Black people now, so another industry must step up to the plate.

#51. The Nashville Flood

Natural disasters have the ability to bring out the best in people and in many cases, the worst. Tornadoes that level small towns draw families - whose every possession now litters roadways – together.

In the seminal book Bowling Alone, Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam bemoaned the declining sense of community in America (which eerily parallels the decline of Pre-Obama America), and it is in natural calamities that people showcase their innate kindness and benevolence.

In the earthquake that ravaged Haiti, billions of dollars was sent by people in America to help that already beleaguered nation. Curiously, the same gifts to the nation of Chile were small when compared to the generosity bestowed to the Haitians, even thought the earthquake that hit the South American nation was of much greater severity and ferocity.

Looking back on Hurricane Katrina that ravaged New Orleans in 2005, one can again see the outpouring of grief from Americans for those people unfortunate enough to leave the city before intense flooding, panic and widespread looting was afoot. Lawlessness raged in New Orleans prior to the hurricane, just as lawlessness raged in Haiti prior to the earthquake.

In both cases, an outpouring of donations and relief was given philanthropically to the citizens who were incapable of containing the aftermath of Mother Nature themselves. The Chileans were ignored.

You recall, Kanye West went on national TV in 2005 and stated that “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people,” as the rapper decided the president’s response to the ongoing looting, murder and mayhem in New Orleans was the fault of a white president, when it was Black people engaging in said activity.

However, a flood of much greater brutality has devastated another southern city as of late, and yet the media is curiously absent from covering this remorseless act of nature. Oddly, incidents of rioting, looting, murdering and congregating inside a sports arena are noticeably absent from the news emanating out of Nashville.

Instead, citizens working together for the common good of overcome nature’s tragic indifference are all that seems to be transpiring. No “We are the World” telethons are being conducted to raise needed funds to combat the emotionless water that rises in Nashville, flooding such landmarks as the Grand Ole Opry.

Black people in others city paying attention to the flood in Nashville can only look on with utter horror at the dignity and civility in which the citizens of that town go about helping one another out to battle the forces of nature, without demanding governmental aid. The home of country music, Toby Keith has yet to get on national TV and state that “Barack Obama doesn’t care about white people."

Instead, citizens of Nashville fight the flood themselves and in the process illustrate that the thesis of the book Bowling Alone is grossly inaccurate. Whitopia’s still possess the ability to maintain a culture that breeds commonality and trust among their citizenry.

Indeed, it is times of trouble and anguish that neighbors showcase their true colors either pulling together to overcome obstacles that could endanger a fellow citizen or engaging in behavior more akin to anarchy. An odd correlation between the number of white people present in a city or country (think Chile) and the response to the natural disaster is appearing. Conversely, the amount of Black people and the exacerbation of a natural disaster only ensure the complete ruination of that city (New Orleans) or nation (Haiti).

In the case of the latter, millions upon millions of dollars will be collected through private philanthropy to help rebuild what was already broken – Haiti was a mess prior to the quake, New Orleans was the most dangerous city in America before 2005 and recently reclaimed that title though its Black population had been dispersed throughout the south – while Nashville will be left to rebuild by the citizens of that city alone.

One writer for Newsweek stated the flood in Nashville didn’t provide a strong enough “narrative” to warrant massive news coverage, despite writing that the flood could end up being one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history a mere paragraph before:

As you may have heard, torrential downpours in the southeast flooded the Tennessee capital of Nashville over the weekend, lifting the Cumberland River 13 feet above flood stage, causing an estimated $1 billion in damage, and killing more than 30 people. It could wind up being one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history.

Or, on second thought, maybe you didn't hear. With two other "disasters" dominating the headlines—the Times Square bombing attempt and the Gulf oil spill—the national media seems to largely to have ignored the plight of Music City since the flood waters began inundating its streets on Sunday. A cursory Google News search shows 8,390 hits for "Times Square bomb" and 13,800 for "BP oil spill." "Nashville flood," on the other hand, returns only 2,430 results—many of them local. As Betsy Phillips of the Nashville Scene writes, "it was mind-boggling to flip by CNN, MSNBC, and FOX on Sunday afternoon and see not one station even occasionally bringing their viewers footage of the flood, news of our people dying."

So why the cold shoulder? I see two main reasons. First, the modern media may be more multifarious than ever, but they're also remarkably monomaniacal. In a climate where chatter is constant and ubiquitous, newsworthiness now seems to be determined less by what's most important than by what all those other media outlets are talking about the most.

Many people now openly wonder if Barack Obama doesn’t like white people for his callow attitude toward refraining to acknowledge the floods in Nashville (recall, he spoke of the great tragedy that was the earthquake in Haiti mere hours after it hit Port-au-Prince) bespeaks someone completely neutral to the calamity unfolding in the heart of Tennessee.

This is besides the point and a query that is unnecessarily asked. Instead, the question Black people should be asking themselves is why is Nashville unlike New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina?

Why is the National Guard not being called into duty to police the streets of Nashville as they were needed to do in New Orleans of 2005 (and potentially war-torn Black areas of Chicago in 2010)?

The Tennessean reports on areas of Nashville that have received scant help from the government save the kindness of neighbors:

"If it wasn't for individuals saying, 'I'll help,' we'd be in a bad situation," East Nashville Councilman Jamie Hollin said. "I'm not sure what government infrastructure support we've received, if any. The reason East Nashville has done so well is because of its volunteers stepping up to the plate and taking ownership of this situation."

Unlike “The Chocolate City” New Orleans, Nashville doesn’t have as many pitiful Black faces to showcase to the nation and cause feelings of inadequacy and self-pity among Disingenuous White Liberals. Unlike Atlanta, Birmingham, Detroit and other majority Black municipalities that are poorly run and stand on the verge of collapse and ruination (currently and if a national disaster hit), Nashville is a majority white city:

As of the 2005-2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans made up 64.8% of Nashville's population; of which 60.2% were non-Hispanic whites. Blacks or African Americans made up 28.3% of Nashville's population; of which 28.1% were non-Hispanic blacks. American Indians made up 0.3% of the city's population. Asian Americans made up 3.1% of the city's population. Pacific Islander Americans made up less than 0.1% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race made up 2.4% of the city's population; of which 0.1% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from two or more races made up 0.9% of the city's population; of which 0.8% were non-Hispanic. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 7.3% of Nashville's population.

White people helping out white people is inherently racist, which is why philanthropy must always go from white people to blighted Black cities or nations (or the entire continent of Africa). Giving money to fellow white people makes little sense to white people, as they only feel moral superior when they give their money to piteous Black people. As the situation in Nashville illustrates, white people are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.

Thus, why the Nashville flood is receiving a complete media blackout, and why precious few dollars flow into the city in the form of relief for those citizens who dare band together and brave the elements and flood alone.

Like the flood that ravaged Des Moines, Iowa a few years back, the act of nature affected the wrong population group. Had it been Cleveland, Ohio instead of lily-white Des Moines, then the national news would have had a natural disaster worth covering.

Stuff Black People Don’t Like includes the flood in Nashville, for the stark differences between disparate demographic groups battling the uncontrollable elements is once again on display for the world to see. Haiti vs. Chile once round one. New Orleans vs. Nashville is round two.

The white response to natural disasters is now cemented through the peaceful flood battle in Nashville, while the Black response is sadly remembered through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the tragedy that continues to befall Haiti.

When – not if – a situation like the one in Greece (national insolvency) occurs in the United States, would you rather be in a city like Nashville or New Orleans?

#24. Their Own Hair

Have you ever seen Liar Liar? This film happens to be one of Jim Carrey's finest and contains one of the most interesting nuggets of truth imaginable, as Carrey's character is unable to lie for one day (thanks to a wish from his long neglected son). Upon learning this, his son asks the following:

Max Reede: My teacher tells me beauty is on the inside.
Fletcher: That's just something ugly people say.

Was Jim Carrey's character in the film telling the truth, and if so, what does that say about the people who spend vast amounts of money on their hair to change it from its natural state of nappiness (Nappturality) into something that doesn't resemble anything close to what nature intended:

"SILKY straight hair has long been considered by many black women to be their crowning glory. So what if getting that look meant enduring the itchy burning that’s a hallmark of many chemical straighteners. Or a pricey dependence on “creamy crack,” as relaxers are sometimes jokingly called.

Getting “good hair” often means transforming one’s tightly coiled roots; but it is also more freighted, for many African-American women and some men, than simply a choice about grooming. Straightening hair has been perceived as a way to be more acceptable to certain relatives, as well as to the white establishment.

Last year, sales of home relaxers totaled $45.6 million (excluding Wal-Mart), according to Mintel, a market research firm, a figure that has held steady in recent years. So many African-American women use relaxers or a hot comb to get a straight look temporarily that not doing so can require courage."

Hold on. Before we continue to, it is vital to point out a glaring paradox that exists between what we are about to discuss (Black hair) and the absolute loathing that Black people have for their own hair, to the point of Acting White and desperately trying to imitate white hair.

This earth shattering contradiction must be discussed at length, for Black women find the natural state of their hair too nappy, and thus, engage in ritualistic abuse to straighten their hair and embarking in the incredibly expense hair weave, which can cost between $1,000 - $3,000 a session (some stylists do take lay-a-way).

An interesting description of fighting nature with massive amounts of nurture is described her:

"A hair weave can either be sewn or glued into the existing hair. The sewing process generally takes from 1 to 4 hours depending on how much hair you decide to have sewn in to you existing hair. With the practice of proper application and maintenance, glue in hair weaves can last up to three weeks; while sewn in weaves last up to 6 weeks. No matter what kind of weave style you’re going for, a professional applied hair weave that is applied by a hair stylist can instantly provide the look you’re searching for."

Chris Rock, who once had the audacity to verbally assault a large portion of the Black people in an (in)famous comedy bit, has once again decided to assault a large portion of the Black community by pointing out that every Black woman who embarks on the odyssey of nurturing their hair from nappiness to straightness does so to Act White:

Secrets, comedian Chris Rock declares slyly, are bad for the human spirit. That's why he's gleefully talking out of school in his new documentary, Good Hair, which has some people rolling in the aisles and others rolling their eyes.

In Good Hair, Rock sets out to explore the historically fraught concept of "good hair," which for African Americans burdened by the twin legacies of slavery and racism has traditionally been defined as hair more like white people's. Do black women, he wonders, spend countless hours and hundreds of dollars in hair salons to make their hair straighter and silkier because they want to look white?

So he visits hair salons, where women get their heads slathered with toxic goop (known as "creamy crack") to "relax," or straighten, their hair.

He watches as they sit for hours getting their hair braided or a "weave" of hair extensions that can cost $1,000. He helps a scientist demonstrate what the relaxer chemicals can do to an aluminum can (it's not pretty), observes a wacky hair show contest and travels to India to see where the hair in extensions comes from. (Indian women shave their heads and donate their hair in a religious ritual; the hair is later sold by Asian-owned companies.)

Jason Griggers, 40, another Atlanta stylist in the movie, who is white, hopes the movie will help break down walls between races.

"More dialogue is better than no dialogue," he says. "When I started (going to Bronner Bros.), there was only a tiny handful of white people there, and now it's much more integrated."

A movie about Black hair and the desire by Black women to part with up to a $1,000 dollars to Act White - well, to have white hair - kick starting a dialogue about race? Wouldn't that have the adverse effect of showcasing the enormous differences between the races? SBPDL thought we were all equal?:

"[Black women's] hair costs more than anything they wear," Rock recently said in a Salon interview. "It's like the No. 2, 3 expense of their whole life." Meanwhile, in a recent discussion on MSNBC, black Princeton prof Melissa Harris-Lacewell agreed with Rachel Maddow that an Obama administration meant white people would be more emboldened to ask black people about previously taboo issues, like how they do their hair (Harris-Lacewell admitted she wasn't looking forward to that)."

Even worse than the money spent trying to Act White - or at least have white hair - is the opportunity costs that are lost in this perverse attempt to thwart nature with nurture:

"A government study shows that African American women are 70% more likely to be obese than white women. As intriguing as this statistic seems, the reasons for it are equally as interesting. Factors including time, money and even hair contribute to keeping some black women out of the gym.

Nikki Kimbrough is a celebrity fitness expert who says, "The number one excuse is 'what am I going to do with my hair,' and I can relate because I'm a black woman myself and I have the same issue".

In Nikki's fitness class, the women are of a variety of races and have a range of hair textures. Three black women from her class battle with issues about their hair, but make a consistent effort to get to the gym. Adrienne Lynch, one of Nikki's clients, is a black woman that, in the past, let her hair keep her from going to the gym"

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, four out of five African American women are overweight or obese which increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and many other aliments.

In addition to hair and money, a big roadblock to hitting the gym is time. With the economic downturn, many African American women have more responsibilities and finding time to work out is difficult, but as these four African American women have shown, you don't have to put your beauty second to have your health come first."

Sadly, four out of five Black women aren't just passing on seconds, but they are passing thousands of dollars to Act White - err, have white-looking hair (imported from India) - and risking their own health in the process.

So how much do Black women spend to have white-looking hair?:

Today, African Americans spend an estimated $9 billion a year on hair-care products in an effort to fry it, dye it, lock it up, weave it, or make it lay flat and smooth, according to industry estimates. Still, black women often debate whether certain hair styles -- cornrows, locks or Afros -- hold them back in professional work settings such as financial and legal firms or in broadcast media.

$9 billion dollars, in an all out effort to ensure that Don Imus is wrong. Hey, even in an economic depression, Black women spend the big bucks to Act White (vicariously through Indian-imported hair):

"Every woman wants to be beautiful no matter what color, but Black women have a special pride that includes taking care of their hair," said Adams. "Even if times are hard, a good hairstyle can do a lot for an individual."

Yes, it is quite true that every woman wants to be beautiful, but as Jim Carrey taught us in Liar, Liar, nature didn't give everyone equal beauty, nor equal hair.

Sadly, the attempts to Act White by impersonating white peoples hair is nothing new, as women throughout time have been envious of white people and their hair:

"Blonde women, both natural and contrived, are disproportionately represented in film, fashion, advertising, and television. Blonde women are generally thought of as the most beautiful, not only in northern Europe and North America where many natural blondes live, but also in those parts of the world where blondes are rare. Tens of millions of women—and not just in America and Europe—lighten their hair, while only a few darken it.

Many would dismiss this almost universal passion for blondeness as a recent fashion, or as a consequence of the ubiquity and power of American culture, but Joanna Pitman’s new book On Blondes

She notes that many whites who are not natural blondes dye their hair in the hope of “passing,” and wonders: “Are those who blonde themselves still subconsciously seeking to distinguish themselves from darker and less powerful ethnic groups?” Mrs. Pitman concedes that non-white women have often turned themselves blonde but never permits herself to wonder whether at some level they may wish they were white."

An interesting question indeed. Black women spend $9 billion a year in a desperate bid to foil nature with Indian-imported locks to Act White through having white looking hair. There can only be one explanation for this: Stuff Black People Don't Like includes their own hair, for $9 billion dollars spent on fixing Black hair to look white every year, only leads to that conclusion.

Might this $9 billion dollar number reflect the ultimate Hate Fact and perhaps the ultimate self-loathing fact?

#67. Bad Experience at The Barbershop

Black people have three great cultural routines in their everyday lives's: church; eating fried chicken with the family; and the trip to the barbershop.

For many Black children, their fondest memories of childhood come from their initial visit to the barbershop to have their hair trimmed, straightened, jheri curl or rowed. Black hair is much different than any other racial groups hair on the planet, and for this reason special attention is placed on selecting and finding the proper stylist, as this relationship could be a lifelong affair.

Black people stress out about their hair so much, an entire website has been created to discuss and rate various stylists in cities throughout the United States and to point Black people in the direction of the top barbershops.

One website devoted to Black hair, writes:

"African hair is made of the same “stuff” as non-African hair. The difference lies in the way those components are put together or the structure of our hair. The structure of our hair can cause it to be more prone to breakage and dryness. Because of this, black hair care needs are different from those for other types of hair. Our hair can have up to twice the amount of “cuticle” or outer layer. Our hair is kinkier which makes it more difficult for the oil secreted from our scalps to reach the ends of the hair."

Black people care so much about hair that two movies have been made glorifying the vocation of the barber: Barbershop and Barbershop 2. In both movies Cedric the Entertainer play Eddie, the elderly and wise hair artisan, who departs this pearl of wisdom on those who loiter around his barbershop:

"See, in my day, a barber was more than just somebody who sit around in a FUBU shirt with his drawers hanging all out. In my day, a barber was a counselor. He was a fashion expert. A style coach. Pimp. Just general all-around hustler. But the problem with y'all cats today, is that you got no skill. No sense of history. And then, with a straight face, got the nerve to want to be somebody. Want somebody to respect you. But it takes respect to get respect. Understand? See, I'm old. But, Lord willing, I'd be spared the sight of seeing everything that we worked for flushed down the drain by someone who don't know no better or care."

White people may have golf courses to discuss the various problems of their lives, but Black people enjoy the neighborhood barbershop as the venue to trade gossip. It is not only a forum to talk about the problems of life, but the place to bestow wisdom to from one generation of Black men to the next.

Thus, when Black people have a bad experience at the Barbershop an entire month can be ruined. Or, in the case of Marcus T. Bailey, 10 to 15 years. Mr. Bailey was having his haired put into cornrows or braided and he had the unfortunate vexing problem of having to partake in a business deal during the corning procedure.

Mr. Bailey was arrested when:

"...he stepped out of a South Side barbershop to conduct an apparent drug deal, police said ...Marcus T. Bailey, 25, was actually being sought on a parole warrant when authorities arrived at 952 Washington Avenue and found him in a car with two other people and about 21 grams of crack cocaine, said Evansville Police Department Spokesman Steve Green. Bailey was apparently having his hair braided inside when he stepped out, Green said... According to the affidavit, Lawrence and Blue both told investigators Bailey told them to come to the barber shop "if they wanted to buy crack cocaine."

Black people have three things that are vital to their physical and mental well-being and when they are deprived of these things, problems do arise. Church, fried chicken with the family and a good haircut a good man do make in the Black community. When, as Mr. Bailey found, you are denied one of these critical triumvirates of Black happiness, chaos ensues.

Stuff Black People Don't Like includes a bad experience at the barbershop, for having a bad hair when your Black is one of the worst things our ebony friends endure.