Tinu Abayomi-Paul aka Empress of Twerk. NO DMs Profile picture
Writer. Speaker. Founder. “They Not Like Us” Black. She/her See link for help, NOT DM/tags #DisabledBlackTalk #MySpoons #OwCH #ForTinu 7025088468

Jan 30, 2018, 12 tweets

See now I try to get into #scifi series like #ElectricDreams & I see this woman's hair. Jolts me out of suspended disbelief.

Is there not one black person on your whole crewwhocould explain how jarring it is to see your heritage on someone's head this way?

I'm not even team no-one-else-on-earth-can-wear-braids as there are plenty of exceptions. But what is this supposed to say to us?

That in a future dystopian society there's no time to look cute but at some point there's enough time for that hot mess?

LOOK AT IT AGAIN.

Some of them are or were braids. Some are... braids wrapped in twine I guess? What does it MEAN. Blond chicks are dirty in the future?

Which of course is in correlation to BRAIDS being dirty in the present?

And to make my point, some of you are thinking "why is she so worked up over the depiction of hair, it's just some @amazon show."

To which I ask this.

Where do you think the negative undertones about black people come from? For people who have never met or seen a black person in particular?

I assure you that you will not see this hairstyle - or any like it - in a household run by a black mama. Not even if she's a crackhead.

Nope. You -not everyone, people who don't know any black people- y'all see crap like this & it slides into your subconscious that braids = dirty = black.

& next thing you know my nieces are sent home because their hair is in (perfectly neat and clean) braid extensions.

Y'all stop this. It's not the 1st or the 109th time of this tired mess.

Hackers have clean hair. If you want someone to look dirty SMEAR DIRT ON THEM. Black hair matters dammit.

(I'm saying all this with a wink and a chuckle but I am truly serious. Cut it out or we'll bring you down. )

unroll please

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