What "I'm Blackity Black Black" Means (with information about the 1993 movie CB4 that birthed that saying)

Movieclips, May 4, 2020

CB4 - I'm Black, Y'all!: Dead Mike (Allen Payne) and Stab Master Arson (Deezer D) go solo.

[…]

FILM DESCRIPTION:

After many failed attempts to establish themselves as rappers, Albert (Chris Rock), Euripedes (Allen Payne) and Otis (Deezer D) get their big break when nightclub owner Gusto (Charlie Murphy) is arrested. Albert assumes his name and criminal past, becoming MC Gusto, and the trio rises to fame by pretending to be recently released felons. As their fame increases, so do tensions within the group. When Gusto escapes from prison, he is furious at having his identity stolen and vows revenge.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about the meanings of the African American saying "I', Blackity Black Black".

This post also provides information about the 1993 movie CB4 that birthed that saying.

The content of this post is presented for historical, linguistic, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who were associated with the movie CB4 and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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LYRICS FOR THE RAP "I'M BLACK Y'ALL" 
(from the 1993 American movie CB4)

[Dead Mike (Allen Payne)]

I'm black y'all, and I'm black y'all

And I'm blackety black and I'm black y'all

And I'm black y'all, and I'm black y'all

And I'm blackety black and I'm black y'all

I'm piggety black black

And black black and blackety black yo

Because I'm black and I'm back

Yo I'm black and then black y'all and I'm blackety black and

I'm black y'all and I'm black y'all and I'm black y'all

And I'm blackety black and I'm black y'all and

I'm piggety black black black blackety black black black black black black black y'all

And I'm black y'all, and I'm black y'all

And I'm blackety black cause I'm black

From  https://genius.com/Cb4-im-black-yall-lyrics

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THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF "I'M BLACKITY BLACK BLACK" 
From https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blackity-black#:~:text=(informal%2C%20slang%2C%20of%20persons,or%20characteristically%20black%20quotations%20%E2%96%BC

blackity-black

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps from blackity (“blackness”) +‎ black, with the reduplication serving to intensify or stress the focus on being black (i.e. African-American).

Adjective

blackity-black (comparative more blackity-black, superlative most blackity-black)

(informal, slang, of persons, non-pejorative) Typifying characteristic traits (e.g. physical, cultural, linguistic, etc.) of African-American blacks, especially in defiant contrast to those of whites or white-favouring blacks; quintessentially or characteristically black"

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SOME EXAMPLES OF THE BLACK PRIDE MEANING OF SAYING "I'M BLACKITY BLACK BLACK)

These examples are given without any explanations. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

Source #1
From  https://genius.com/Cb4-im-black-yall-lyrics

devokamii, 2020
"Be proud of being black. Own that sh-t*. Don’t let anyone tell you anything else about your skin other than it’s beauty. Happy Black History Month"
-snip-
“The word “sh-t” is an amended spelling of the word for excrement. In that comment, "sh-t" is a  non-pejorative word for “thing”.  “The phrase ”the “sh-t” can also be a highly complimentary noun.

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Source #2
From https://www.pinterest.com/edgez/blackity-black/
1. IG@Nick.Richh
@Nick.Richh_

NEVER be apologetic about your black skin, your black thoughts, your black loyalties, your black history, or your black motivates.  
BE BLACK!

**
2. Black is beautiful in all shades.
And if you didn't know
You better ask somebody.

**
3. Pro Black
Isn't anti-white.

**
4. Love your big lips. Love your broad nose.
Love your "unmanageable" hair.
Love your wide hips.
Love your skin tone.

**
5. We will not apologize for
embracing our culture
and acknowledging our history.

**
6. Black and woke.
 
**
7.  Say it loud.
I'm Black and I'm proud.

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Source #3
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_21Agi0t8I&t=27s
[This is the discussion thread for the movie clip that is embedded in this pancocojams post.]

1. Caleb Jakande, 2022
"This song was so powerful and meaningful to me as a young black child. 💪🏿"

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Source #4
From https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2018/03/cb4-is-the-film-that-gifted-us-the-im-black-yall-meme "This Is the Film That Gifted Us the ‘I’m Black, Y’all’ Meme" by Khal, Mar 12, 2018

1. agentpaxton [no date given]
"Me walking in and after seeing Black Panther #blackyall #blackpanther, #blackpower #cb4 #wakandaforever #noHotep #killmonger was right

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2. Franck Juste (@franck_juste) on Jun 13, 2015 
"Sadly, despite CB4 being an undeniable cult classic, more than a few folks probably had no clue that their favorite meme came from a 25-year-old flick about the phoniest rap group of all time. Shouts to Chris Rock for unknowingly blessing the world with this gem, which will no doubt be used to explain some of the battle scenes in Wakanda during Avengers: Infinity War."

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Source #5
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsiZCyQoEVg "CB4 I'm Black Y'all" published by Hajime Ryudo, Aug 7, 2014

1. ComeliaO7, 2019
"Happy Black History Month!"
-snip-
Undoubtedly, some comments wishing people a happy Black history month are written facetiously.

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2. Miles Garrett, 2020
"THIS IS FOR GEORGE FLOYD ✊🏾✊🏾"

**
3. 14omoon, 2020
"Happy Juneteenth ya'll!! 💚💜🖤❤"
-snip-
Undoubtedly, some comments wishing people a happy Juneteenth are written facetiously.

**
4. Blake had A Blast, 2020
"Me for Life ‼️👏🏾"

**

5. Maximos Wolfe, 2020
"Aahhh the good old days when blacks didn’t take themselves so seriously and were even willing to poke fun at Afrocentrism. Better times."

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Reply
6. 2Muchpjp, 2020
"Hes poking the fun at the people that USE afrocenttrism to make money which was common in the late 80s early 90s. No disrespect to x clan. They was bout it."

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7. Just a unpopular Girl, 2020
"Always gotta be some racist in the comment section"

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8. Mark Leach, 2020
"Promotes black racism"

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Reply
9. Peter McIlhon, 2020
"Whoosh"

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Reply
10. Nicholas Yager
"@Peter McIlhon  I'm white y'all! I'm white y'all! And I'm whitety white and I'm white y'all!"

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EXAMPLES OF "I'M BLACKITY BLACK BLACK" THAT (OFTEN FACETIOUSLY) EMPHASIZE ITS GENETIC (DNA) MEANING

While the original definition of "blackity Black Black" mostly refers to expressing pride in being Black, by at least 2020 an expansion of that saying (often facetiously) emphasizes the genetical meaning of that saying and ( physical aspect of that statement i.e. people who say that they are "blackity black black" are declaring that they are monoracially Black without any other racial or ethnic admixture* as shown in their skin color, facial features, and afro textured hair.    

*"Monoracial" is the opposite of "biracial" or "multiracial".

These comments are given without any explanations. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

Source #1
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_21Agi0t8I&t=27s
[This is the discussion thread for the movie clip that is embedded in this pancocojams post.]

1. thaintriguing1, 2020
"When you’re white but find out you’re 1% black"

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Reply
2. Badger at Toad Hall, 2020
"One drop rule man."

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Reply
3. Jennifer Lewis,2020
"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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4. Wrex1 Kettles, 2021
"Just found out I'm 1/16 black.  And this song popped in my head when I found out hahaha"

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Source #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsiZCyQoEVg "CB4 I'm Black Y'all", published by Hajime Ryudo, Aug 7, 2014

1. Toasty Ham, 2020
"Me after I get my 23andMe results saying I'm 2% Haitian"

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EXAMPLES OF "I'M BLACKITY BLACK BLACK" THAT (SOMETIMES SERIOUSLY AND SOMETIMES IN JEST) REFER TO THEIR OWN OR OTHER BLACK PEOPLE'S PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 

Source #1
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsiZCyQoEVg "CB4 I'm Black Y'all", published by Hajime Ryudo, Aug 7, 2014

1. BIGTRUTH, 2019
"He’s actually light skinned. But let’s not get bogged down in the details."

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Reply
2.  Kayer713,2020
"Light skinned people get called the n-word just like the rest of us. If he's not light enough to pass as another race then he's still considered black/African American"

**
3. blackguy2732, 2020
"Wait ..... is he black, ya'll?"

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Source #2
From 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nal-auXDdTY LET'S TALK BLACK HAIR/Texturism" published by Dee Linsey, January 26, 2023

1. May May, 2023
"Tia’s commercial hits at all BW with beautiful diversity. Whether you are blackity black, Afro black, North African black, biracial black, mixed race black or Creole black (like me). The world knows the average BW has type 4 hair and we’ve been inundated with products, articles, and information about it. Some of you need to remember the Pantene Gold Series product line with the beautiful darkskin women as well as other products made specifically for your hair types like Mielle, Camille Rose and Carol’s Daughter.  Well, Tia is representing the other half of BW with silkier textures and that should be applauded too. We’re all BW at the end of the day or ethnic women. I see as many BW headed into Dominican hair salons as Latinas. One of my Latina friends comes from a family of barbers and hairstylists out of NY and both shops have diverse clientele."...

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2. Yellow Flower, 2023
"I am black. Blackity,  black, black. From Mississippi…. Tia and I have the SAME hair texture. There is enough division in the black community as it is, this is completely unnecessary. We are our own worst enemy at times. Videos and opinions like this are dangerous to us as it causes division at a time when we need to be coming together."
-snip-
Another commenter in that vlog's discussion thread wrote that she is 100% Black. (Another commenter responded that that commenter probably had some racial admixture if she was African American.)

My interpretation of "100 % Black" in that discussion thread is that it means the same thing as the saying "blackity black black" in that discussion.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE MOVIE CB4
Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CB4
"CB4 is a 1993 American satirical mockumentary comedy film directed by Tamra Davis and starring Chris Rock. The film follows a fictional rap group named "CB4", named after the prison block in which the group was allegedly formed (Cell Block 4). The movie primarily parodies the rap group N.W.A among other gangsta rap aspects, as well as taking inspiration from This Is Spinal Tap. It contains short segments featuring celebrities and musicians such as Halle Berry, Eazy-E, Butthole Surfers, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Flavor Flav, and Shaquille O'Neal.[1]"

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Excerpt #2
From https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2018/03/cb4-is-the-film-that-gifted-us-the-im-black-yall-meme "This Is the Film That Gifted Us the ‘I’m Black, Y’all’ Meme" by Khal, Mar 12, 2018
..."For those who are unaware, CB4 (which was Chris Rock's first starring role, and came out around the tail-end of his Saturday Night Live career), was a comedy about a trio of rap-loving guys who faked it until they made it. The movie, which Rock wrote alongside Nelson George and Robert LoCash,

[ ….]

[The movie CB4] dives into the lives of a fictional rap group called CB4 in a hilarious "rapumentary" that parodies everyone from N.W.A., MC Hammer, and many other rap tropes.

For the squad (Chris Rock played Albert a.k.a. MC Gusto, Allen Payne played Euripides a.k.a. Dead Mike, and Deezer D played Otis a.k.a. Stab Master Arson), trying to get into the rap game was their thing. They tried a number of trash gimmicks before the biggest gangster in their city, Gusto (played by the late, great Charlie Murphy) is sent to Cell Block 4 after a sting operation. Gusto believes Albert had something to do with his arrest but it was just a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was out of this crazy predicament that Albert hatches a genius idea: he'd start calling himself Gusto, call his squad CB4 (Cell Block 4), and manufacture a gangsta lifestyle to hit the top of the charts.

The plan worked and CB4 blew the hell up, but as the old adage goes: mo' money, mo' problems. Although he goes along with the ruse, Euripides never wanted CB4 to be super exploitative. They mostly failed in that regard as the group got bigger and more outrageous. As the film progressed, Euripides (as Dead Mike) not only began reading more pro-Black literature, but also started speaking up about how he was going to be doing everything for his people. After Gusto (the real Gusto) forced Albert to disband CB4 , there's a bit where the squad members go solo, with Dead Mike getting super Afrocentric on his single, "I'm Black Y'all," which is black AF* and the birth of a glorious meme.”...
-snip-
A Wikipedia summary for the short lived American television series BlackAF provides this definition for the phrase "BlackAF". 

"BlackAF is an American sitcom created by Kenya Barris.[1] It premiered on Netflix on April 17, 2020.[2][3] The title derives from Internet slang, where "AF" is a term of emphasis, meaning "as f—k*".[4] In June 2020, the series was renewed for a second season.[5] A year later, the renewal decision was reversed and the series was canceled after one season."
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment. I added italics to highlight the definition of that phrase.

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Race In Brazil & Brazil's Rising Black Pride Movement (information & videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides excerpts from several articles about race in Brazil and Brazil's rising Black pride movement. Four videos on those subjects are also showcased in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural and sociological purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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ARTICLES ABOUT RACE AND THE BLACK PRIDE MOVEMENT IN BRAZIL
From http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/08/12/431244962/dark-skinned-or-black-how-afro-brazilians-are-forging-a-collective-identity Dark-Skinned Or Black? How Afro-Brazilians Are Forging A Collective Identity, Updated August 14, 2015
"If you want to get a sense of how complex racial identity is in Brazil, you should meet sisters Francine and Fernanda Gravina. Both have the same mother and father. Francine, 28, is blond with green eyes and white skin. She wouldn't look out of place in Iceland. But Fernanda, 23, has milk chocolate skin with coffee colored eyes and hair. Francine describes herself as white, whereas Fernanda says she's morena, or brown-skinned.

"We'd always get questions like, 'How can you be so dark skinned and she's so fair?'" Fernanda says. In fact, the sisters have German, Italian, African and indigenous ancestry. But in Brazil, Fernanda explains, people describe themselves by color, not race, since nearly everyone here is mixed...

Criolla, an advocacy group for black women, says the goal of [a march by Black women in Rio de Janeiro] is to show that Brazil is a black nation, largely populated black and African Brazilians. "We need to fight racism and not to hide it,"[Jurema Werneck, a demonstrator who works for Criolla] says.

She's been participating in the black pride movement for over 15 years. And it seems to be working, she says, because the number of people self identifying as pardo or preto* surged in the latest census.

And more importantly, lawmakers are beginning to pay more attention to issues of inequality. Brazil now has an affirmative action program for higher education. Before the program launched, only seven percent of Afro-Brazilians went to college. Now it's about 15 percent, and the numbers are growing.

Werneck says the black pride movement is also lobbying to change the next census in 2020 to include the word black. Pardo and preto, she says, are euphemisms. Afro-Brazilians should take a cue from African-Americans, she says, and broadcast to society that they're black and proud.

All of that is to say, collecting demographic information in Brazil has been really tricky. The latest census, taken in 2010, found for the first time that Brazil has the most people of African descent outside Africa. No, this doesn't mean that Afro-Brazilian population suddenly, dramatically increased. Rather, the new figures reflect changing attitudes about race and skin color in Brazil.

Racial mixing came about early in Brazil's history. Brazil imported more enslaved people than anywhere else in the Americas — some four million — and slavery lasted longer there than anywhere else in the region. The white Portuguese colonizers were encouraged to "mingle" with the locals. Plainly speaking, this meant that they raped many African and indigenous women.

The result is a vast mixed-race population, which has been added to over the years with successive migrations from Japan and Europe.

Unlike the U.S., where slavery was followed by legal segregation, Brazil never had a formal system of apartheid, says Rosana Heringer, a sociologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro who studies race and the African diaspora. Still, there is a color hierarchy in Brazil, Heringer says. Consistent data shows that darker Brazilians are poorer, and they're more likely to be killed and live in slums, called favelas.

...the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics …organizes the national census every decade. These days there are five formal color categories in the census: indigenous, yellow, white, pardo (or brown) and preto, or dark-skinned, Petruccelli says. The word black doesn't appear anywhere in the list.

"There is a totally different system here than in the U.S., where one drop of black blood makes you black independent of appearance,"[ Luis Petruccelli, a former lead researcher for 20 years] says. In Brazil, it's about how you'd like to classify yourself, and how others see you. The problem, he says, is that Afro-Brazilians have no sense of collective identity, which makes it difficult to address the very real problem of racism and racial inequality in the country.

But lately, that's starting to change, and the black pride movement in Brazil is growing."
-snip-
*From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Brazilians
"Afro-Brazilians is a term used in the 21st century by some in Brazil to refer to Brazilian people with African ancestry. The term does not have widespread use in Brazil, where social constructs and classifications have been based on appearance. People with noticeable African features and skin color are generally referred to (and they identify) as negro or "preto" ("black"). Many members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians, or pardos, also have a range of degree of African ancestry.[3][4]

Preto and pardo are among five color categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with branco ("white"), amarelo ("yellow", East Asian) and indígena (Amerindian).[5] In 2010, 7.6% of the Brazilian population, some 15 million people, identified as "preto," while 43% (86 million) identified as "pardo". Pretos tend to be predominantly African in ancestry, while pardos tend to have a lesser percentage of African ancestry. On average pardos are predominantly European, with African or Native American ancestries[6]"...
-snip-
My sense is that some Brazilians of African descent would disagree with this definition of "pardo".

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From http://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2016/01/07/african-oriented-market-is-growing-despite-the-economic-crisis/ African-oriented market is growing despite the economic crisis By Maíra Azevedo
The ‘mercado negro’ (black market) has proven to be quite lucrative. No, the statement does not refer to any illicit practice. It is that the sale of products and services for the Afro-oriented community is among the segments that continue to grow despite the crisis.

“There is a redemption of the meaning of being black. One doesn’t wait anymore for standardization, but the appreciation of differences. Blacks, historically excluded, want to be seen. They consume and are entrepreneurs,” says sociologist Felipe Rocha.

Owner of a swimwear brand for 4 years, Cynthia Paixão, 30, says she is keen to put something on the pieces to reaffirm the identity of black women, whether in the cuts, that appreciate shapes, or in ethnic prints...

For the economist George Oliveira, because of racism, blacks are used to creating alternatives for survival. “Services and beauty products for blacks are up,” he attests.

Besides being a businesswoman, Cynthia Paixão carries on her head a crown. She was the Deusa do Ébano (Ebony Goddess) of Ilê Aiyê, in 2014, and says that this greatly influenced her choices.
“When I was rainha (queen) of Ilê, I could broaden my vision. I learned how to position myself on a cruel and judgmental society. I was the first gordinha (chubby) candidate and it broke many barriers. Today, I’m a reference for many women and I am happy to represent all,” says the businesswoman.

Self-esteem
Bracelets, turbans, earrings, necklaces. If you have something that reaffirms the beauty of being negão (big, black man), then it will be one of the most popular objects of Najara Souza’s store, better known as Najara Black. Her brand – N’Black – became a reference for those seeking to buy accessories and clothing attesting to racial pride.”...

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From http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/06/black_power_in_brazil_means_natural_hair.html
Black Power in Brazil Means Natural Hair By: Dion Rabouin
Posted: June 26 2014

"The pride in blackness that migrated from African Americans in the U.S. brought big Afros and a natural style that has become a movement in Brazil

Black power is big in Brazil.

In the United States, black power is most associated with raised fists, social revolution and political demands. When Americans think “black power,” they generally think about the movement named and popularized in the 1960s by Southern Christian Leadership Conference founder and Black Panther Stokely Carmichael.

The concept of black power spread through the music of James Brown and Curtis Mayfield, the trial of Angela Davis, the speeches of Malcolm X and the food drives hosted by the Panthers. The movement was able to transcend boundaries. The music, culture and pride that were emanating from African Americans also began to gain popularity with young black Brazilians.

But when Brazilians saw African Americans taking pride in their blackness, owning it and wearing it with gusto, what they most identified with about the culture was the hair that many of the men and women wore: Afros.

Today in Brazil, when folks talk about black power, their symbol is their hair—natural hair. For Afro-Brazilians in general but black women especially, to wear an Afro or to wear their hair naturally is to wear black power.

“Many women [who wear] black power are adhering to the culture, others for political attitude, but there are also those who wear it simply because it is stylish and on point,” says Danielle Cipriane."...

A number of other groups have sprouted a challenge to Brazil’s preponderance of straight hair and are advocating for a quarantine on chemicals. One of the best-known is Meninas Black Power, or Afro Girls, a group founded by Elida Aquino to empower young girls to embrace their natural hair. Aquino started Meninas Black Power while she was a student studying nursing and midwifery in Rio de Janeiro. The name is “a mix of femininity and the strength that we extracted from our ancestry,” she says.

“Meninas Black Power was created to bring together Afro-Brazilian women with different backgrounds who understand that naturally curly hair is also a weapon of political positioning,” says Aquino.

Hair as political positioning or protest is nothing new for Brazil’s black population. American black power and black soul came to impact much of the country’s culture in the 1970s and 1980s, despite the existence of a military dictatorship until 1985. In Rio de Janeiro’s historically poor North Zone, young people started throwing parties with protest themes straight from Oakland or Los Angeles in California or Harlem in New York, which led to the importing of black music, literature and style from the U.S."...

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These videos are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dated video given first.

A number of commenters in some of these videos' discussion thread object to narrators' terminology about "slave ancestors" instead of "African ancestors" or "enslaved African ancestors. I agree with this objection.

Examples #1: The Revival of Brazil's African Culture



Journeyman Pictures, Uploaded on Aug 28, 2007

Black Brazil (2006): It's a religious festival like no other, featuring skimpy bikinis and non-stop drinking and dancing. But for black Brazilians, the festival of Yemanja is as much about spirituality as partying.

For downloads and more information visit http://journeyman.tv/56874/short-film...

"Today the party is for Yemanja, Queen of the Ocean", explains Carlinhos Brown. Candomble, the worship of African Gods, is at the centre of a revival of Afro-Brazilian culture. It aims at recognising the contribution slaves made to modern Brazil and restoring black pride in a city where most black people live in abject poverty...
-snip-
snip-
Here's information about Yemanya from http://www.thaliatook.com/AMGG/yemaya.php:
"Yemaya is the Yorùbá Orisha or Goddess of the living Ocean, considered the mother of all. She is the source of all the waters, including the rivers of western Africa, especially the River Ogun. Her name is a contraction of Yey Omo Eja, which means "Mother Whose Children are the Fish." As all life is thought to have begun in the sea, all life is held to have begun with Yemaya. She is motherly and strongly protective, and cares deeply for all Her children, comforting them and cleansing them of sorrow. She is said to be able to cure infertility in women, and cowrie shells represent Her wealth. She does not easily lose Her temper, but when angered She can be quite destructive and violent, as the sea in a storm.

Yemaya was brought to the New World with the African diaspora and She is now worshipped in many cultures besides Her original Africa. In Brazilian Candomblé, where She is known as Yemanja or Imanje, She is the Sea Mother who brings fish to the fishermen, and the crescent moon is Her sign. As Yemanja Afodo, also of Brazil, She protects boats travelling on the sea and grants safe passage"...

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Example #2: Brazil's Battle Against An Unofficial Apartheid



Journeyman Pictures, Uploaded on Oct 17, 2007

Black Pride (1996): Watch as people sway to the drumbeats of Carnival, marching on a wave of music through the streets of Brazil.

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Example #3: Brazilian black and mixed-race people discriminated



FRANCE 24 English, Uploaded on Dec 8, 2008

REPORTAGE : Brazil is one of the most racially-mixed countries on the planet: half the population has African origins. Yet black and mixed-race people suffer discrimination. Many are fighting for better recognition of this "invisible majority".

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Example #4: CULTNE - Miss Blackpower Brazil Contest 2014



Cultne Acervo, Published on Dec 19, 2014

Maria Priscila was elected Miss Black Power / 2014 on November 8, 2014, in the Lapa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. With inicitaiva Di Black Market, the Cultne Collection recorded the event with images and interviews of Filo Filho and Pedro Oliveira.

Were elected Elaine Serafim, Third Princess Black Power; Jaciene Silva the Second Princess Black Power; and Mary Priscilla as Miss Blackpower 2014. The contest held by the Third Edition of Black Di Market (african - entrepreneurial connection from various parts of Brazil), was designed by Paula jet and Isabel Freitas, Salvador .

The Miss Black Power, says Paula jet, "does not want a single beauty standard - women of all heights, weights and shapes must fit - and neither sees the competition itself , but aims to exalt black using natural hair , breaking the model of a European social standard that does not value the natural traits of black women and force them to transform their hair aesthetics in exchange for acceptance in various social spaces, such as market work. The 1 Miss Black's Brazil is a place of affirmation of identities and strengthening our ethnic and racial diversity. Created as an opportune time for protesting in a different way, bringing an appeal through aesthetics against the abuses we suffer iariamente with racism for being black women and we assume our hair. "

Among the 12 finalists candidates from various parts of Brazil, Maria Priscila, 31, Bahia de Feira de Santana and resident in Rio de Janeiro, teacher and pedagogue, passed by a vote over the Internet, the scrutiny of the emblematic juror, paraded, danced, and had to prove beyond gorgeous black power has knowledge about their African roots in answering the questions of the judges!

So that's it, my people, we now have a Miss Black Power and two princesses, the order MARIA PRISCILA (Feira de Santana / Ba), JACIENE SILVA (Salvador / Ba) and ELAINE SERAFIM (Belo Horizonte / MG ). Who wants to know more about the reign of them by 2015 just follow the page of Mercado di Preta and Movimento e Mídia, on facebook.

Before, with all affection, I note here the participation of our dear Griot, Vanda Ferreira, who blessed all the candidates at the opening of the competition and the jury who donated some of their respective trajectories with much generosity and commitment making this contest one historic and very lovemaking . Our applause to:
1- Alessandra Mattos (Rio de Janeiro - RJ) | Developer Blog Black & Gorda.
2. Asfilófio de Oliveira Filho ( Rio de Janeiro - RJ) | Cultural Producer
3. Cassia Marino (Rio de Janeiro - RJ | Entrepreneur and Owner of Salon Beauties Black Iporinchê
4 . Monica Francisco (Rio de Janeiro - RJ) | Columnist Journal of Brazil and consultant in ASPLANDE NGOs
5. Naymare Azevedo (Natal - RN) | Management in Public Policy and Cultural Production
6. Prof. Dr. Helio Santos (Belo Horizonte - MG) | Author, Intellectual and President of the Baobab Tree Fund
8. Veluma Nunes (Rio de Janeiro - RJ) | Model and Actress .
9. Anna Davies (Rio de Janeiro - RJ) | Journalist

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Sounds Of Blackness - Chains, Hold On Change Is Coming

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases two songs by Sounds Of Blackness: "Chains" and "Hold On Change Is Coming".

The content of this post is presented inspirational, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

FEATURED SONGS
Example #1: Sounds Of Blackness - Chains



SoundsBlacknessVEVO, Uploaded on Oct 4, 2009

Music video by Sounds Of Blackness performing Chains. (C) 1991 A&M Records
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"Chains" is the introduction to the Sounds Of Blackness song "Optimistic". Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWoEMzhDsQA for a sound file of that song.

LYRICS: CHAINS

Chains, chains, chains
Why were my people brought in chains.
Chains, chains, chains
Why were my people sold as
slaves, slaves, slaves.
God won't you free from these
Chains, chains, chains.

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Video #2: Gospel The Sounds Of Blackness Hold On Change Is Coming 1997 YouTube



Laverne Murriell, Published on Jul 7, 2012

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RELATED LINKS
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/songs-about-black-pride.html Songs About Black Pride

http://cocojams.com/content/african-american-civil-rights-songs African American Civil Rights Songs

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the composer of these songs, and all of the members of Sounds Of Blackness, and the musicians who performed this video. My thanks also to the uploaders of these featured sound file and video.

Also, thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Racial & Other Societal Implications Of Touching Black People's Hair

Written by Azizi Powell

This serves as a companion post to http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/02/good-hair-bad-hair-black-attitudes.html Good Hair & Bad Hair (Black People's Attitudes About Our Hair)

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Why do White people touch Black people's hair and what do Black people think about that custom?

The following comment was written in reference to a post on the Afro-Europe.com blog about racism experienced by Black people in Russia:
...”You get a smile here, as a black, when you are ready to disburse some cash and make a purchase that brings in money to a czech, or when they wish to fee* the texture of your skin or hair, if they are seing a black for the very first time. So** even go as far as saying that touching a black can bring some luck or fortune to one white czech.”
- http://afroeurope.blogspot.com/2011/02/should-black-people-travel-to-russia.html?showComment=1350987399032 "Should Black people travel to Russia?", posted by Anonymous October 23, 2012 12:16 PM [a Black male in the Czech Republic]
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[Italics added by me to highlight that sentence]

*The word "fee" is probably a typo for the word "feel".
**The word "so" in the last sentence is probably a typo for the word "some".

That comment reminded me of information that I came across years ago that in several European traditions it was considered to be good luck to be the first person to see or get a kiss from a sooty faced chimney sweep or a dark skinned person on the first day of the year.

In one article about the old custom in Hungary of giving out postcards on New Year's Day, one postcard from 1938 shows the chimney sweep holding a bucket of four leaf clovers. Perhaps it was those clovers that led to the superstition that it was good luck to meet a dark faced individual in the beginning of the New Year. Of course, the chimney sweep was dark faced because of the soot which covered his face as a result of the work that he did.
http://www.luckymojo.com/chimneysweep.html

Also, a portion of an online article about New Years superstitions includes information about the custom of "first footing" at midnight on New Year's Eve. According to that custom, it was considered good luck if a person who was dark haired was the first to cross the threshold of your house, and it was considered bad luck if a person who was blond or red haired did so. http://www.snopes.com/holidays/newyears/beliefs.asp.

Those superstitions may be updated versions of the belief that good luck would be conferred on the first person who saw a chimney sweep or a dark faced person on New Year's day.

Given that "black" was generally considered a color of evil in those European cultures - indeed "black" was considered the color of the devil - I wonder if those traditions meant that on the first day of the year, all beliefs were turned upside down (or "turned on their head", if you will pardon that pun).

The comment cited above that was written by a Black man from the Czech Republic motivated me to look online for other articles about why Black people think that White people want to touch their hair, with or without permission. As a result of that search I found this 2008 blog post: http://www.womanist-musings.com/2008/09/can-i-touch-your-hair-black-women-and.html
"Can I Touch Your Hair? Black Women and The Petting Zoo"
Renee, Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The poster indicated that when she was a child living in a Greek and Italian neighbourhood in the USA, she "was a curiosity. People would touch it, and ask questions about its care like my hair was some kind of pet dog."
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The poster wrote that "they were being racist, or treating me like some kind of exotic creature, never once occurred to them"....
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She also wrote that she has grown in confidence as an adult and now asserts that "My blackness and your curiosity does not give you the right to touch me. I don't care if you smile while you do it, or whistle Dixie out of your ass. My body deserves just as must respect as anyone else. In answer to your question both verbalized and assumed, NO YOU MAY NOT TOUCH MY HAIR."
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To date (October 24, 2012), there are twenty one comments that people wrote on that blog. The commenters who self-identified their racial/ethnic ancestry indicated that they were Black, or indicated that they were White, or indicated that they were of some mixed racial ancestry. One of the commenters, a Black male named Anthony, wrote that he wanted to share his story because he didn't want people to think that it was only Black females who experienced White people touching their hair without permission. Here's an excerpt of Anthony's comment:

I'm a black male and for about 14 years I had dreadlocks. While in college, at the university of Minnesota, I had numerous white people ask to touch my long dreads. Usually it was more people touching/grabbing my hair without asking. Never was it a pleasant experience educating or refusing someone about my hair. The fact that i was placed into a position where i had to "educate" someone about my hair made me different, which I didn't like. How many times have you had your hair grabbed by a man or woman that you don't know?

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My sense was that most of the commenters to that blog post disagreed with the blogger Renee's position that racism was the reason why White people (and other non-Black people) wanted to touch Black people's hair. Instead, the majority of those commenters indicated that curiosity about hair that was different than their own was the reason why White people wanted to touch Black people hair. One commenter shared her experiences of people in China wanting to touch her hair -and her skin. That commenter wrote that she believed that the Chinese people wanted to do this because they were curious about her hair & skin since they had never seen a Black person before.

Two of the commenters shared their experiences of children in the Caribbean rushing up to them to touch their hair. One of those commenters described herself as a Black woman with long hair & indicated that this happened to her during her vacation in Jamaica. The other commenter described herself as being Hispanic/Caucasian and wrote that this happened to her during her vacation in Haiti.

And at least one commenter who identified herself as Black shared that she has had a number of experiences in which other Black people wanting to touch her long hair to determine if her hair was "real" or if it was a weave or extensions (hair that is woven into or otherwise attached to a person's hair in order to add to the length of that person's hair).

That said, most of the commenters wrote that the act of touching someone else's hair is an act of disregarding that person's personal space.

I agree with this conclusion and would also add that touching someone's hair or body without permission, or even asking to touch the hair or body of a stranger violates societal rules of etiquette. And, returning to the conclusions reached by Renee and some other commenters to her blog post, it seems to me that the belief that you can violate other people's personal space, and disregard their rights to privacy by touching their hair or their skin just because you are curious about those people's differentness suggests to me that you don't believe that those people are as worthy of respect as you are. If you feel that you can only get away with this act of disrespect with people of who are members of a race or ethnicity which historically has been considered inferior to your race/ethncity, that might, indeed, mean that you actually are racist.

That said, there may be other reasons why people-including Black people-may want to touch a Black person's hair. A particularly powerful photograph that was taken by the White House photographer Pete Souza is of a young Black boy in the White House Oval Office touching President Barack Obama's hair. In an article accompanying that photograph, Jonathan Capehart, a Black journalist writes:

Thanks to the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, we African Americans are sensitive about our heads and our hair. A pat on the head, especially from someone white, would be considered to be patronizing at best. “Don’t let anybody touch your head,” my mother told me when we moved from Newark to a predominantly white town in New Jersey. I would learn at school that some would rub the head of someone black for good luck. And there were all sorts of put-downs for black hair — from Brillo to something not appropriate to mention in a family forum such as this. Thus, having your head touched is a rather intimate gesture that only family could get away with.

For Jacob, asking Obama about his hair was clearly about establishing a connection, about confirming that the powerful person who looks like him is really like him in so many ways. As Obama adviser David Axelrod told Calmes, “Really, what he was saying is, ‘Gee, you’re just like me.’ And it doesn’t take a big leap to think that child could be thinking, ‘Maybe I could be here someday.’”

The power of that photo taken by White House photographer Pete Souza had those two elements for me. A black man allowing his head to be touched by a stranger. But not just any stranger. A child seeking a familiar link between himself and the black man, who also happens to be the leader of the free world. Still, I don’t think I can ever articulate everything the Souza photo says to me.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/photo-speaks-volumes-about-obama-and-race/2012/05/24/gJQA2T2lmU_blog.html Photo speaks volumes about Obama and race By Jonathan Capehart 05/24/2012

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FEATURED VIDEOS [revised on August 24, 2014 because a previously posted video is no longer available.]

Example #1: Never Touch a Black Woman's Hair



AShotofJenn, Uploaded on Feb 1, 2012

Horrific thoughts when someone tries to touch my hair.
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Here are three comments from that video's viewer comment thread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQB0THw6-wg:

TaShar16, 2012
"I have a serious question. Why can't/shouldn't you touch a black woman's hair? Seriously what are the reasons? I can see if the woman has a week and she don't want someone to know it's not really her hair. Or, is it because you feel the person's hand is dirty? I hear jokes about this all the time, but I really don't know why.

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jackalo34, 2012
"From my experience, it’s a myriad of things. 1. Like you said, I don’t know where the person’s hand has been. 2. You might mess up my hairstyle. 3. MOST people do it without even asking and it’s plain rude. 4. A lot of people do it because they think you have a weave eg “weave checking” 5. Some people just don’t like being touched in general. Personally, I love when someone plays in my hair…but it’s gotta be someone I know like my bf or my family but yea."

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OmoItsekiri, 2013
"If your hair isn't permed i.e. curly or coiled a LOT of random people on the street will actually ask to touch your hair! Sometimes you're just not in the mood to have hands pulling at your hair! I don't mind people touching my hair but within reason!"

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Example #2: Don't Touch My Hair



jsi08, Uploaded on Feb 7, 2012

Mini rant.
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In this video a Black women who is mixed racal not only rant about people touching her hair, but also rants about people asking inapporpriate questions such as "What are you?" and "What race are you?"

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Example #3: DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR WITHOUT ASKING!!



Tribesbez, Uploaded on Dec 29, 2011

Just a story about something that happened to me recently. Please leave your thoughts in the comment box!
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This young woman tells about the time when an older Black woman in the mall touched her hair and then described it a being coarse in an insulting manner.

Heeere ar three commens from the video's discussion threead:

SincereCurls, 2012
"That happens to me a lot... People are so intrigued with natural hair, Idk why, but they are... I totally agree with you on that the last thing that someone should do is make a negative comment about your hair after they touched it... I thought an older lady at my job was trying to get some tips from me when she asked me, "how did you get your hair like that?" I told her and she said, "so that is how you get it so nappy"... I was like really... Maybe I misunderstood her..."

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kizzy6, 2012
"I so agree with you! Its about respect. I hate when my friends feel like they can just touch my hair after touching God knows what. NO THIS IS NOT A PETTING ZOO BACK UP! If someone ask maybe but its still awkward to me, its just hair!"

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Kiki E., 2014
"I don't like when random people touch my hair. Especially if they don't ask. I go to a mostly white school and white girls always just think it's ok to come up to me and touch my hair."

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Example #4: Interactive public art exhibit: You Can Touch My Hair



Confident Curls, Published on Jun 9, 2013

Here's an exchange from that video's interesting discussion thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbDgxJNIAVM

Ullah, June 2014
"THE PROBLEM is that whites often see blacks as a collective so that if one steals, for some
reason they like to think most blacks steal--if one likes or allows strange hands in their hair then others will too. I have had white women reach over and grab a hank of my hair to feel it also had them digging into the hair to my scalp to "see if it is weave". A little bit of knowledge is dangerous. Touching hair will neither foster or engender understanding--it simply places a formerly ignorant group in the position of them thinking they know more than they really do.

I had a white woman tell me that my waist length hair (when it was that long) was weave because she read that black women could not grow hair. When I insisted it was, she reached over and ran her hands over my scalp before I jerked away-- she then asked me if I had that invisible strand weave because as she stated :she did hair so she knew my hair must not be real"

I told her that if you knew about single strand weave than she also knew that if felt it was easily discerned due to the stiffness of binding fake hair to real hair.

I also told her to not believe everything she hears no matter what color the source is--blacks can no more speak for all other blacks than one white can represent all other whites--what this exhibit did was get a lot of buzz and put people like me on display with many whites thinking that for some reason what a few did in one State must mean black women were now open to being head molested--I have to tell people to not put their hands on me--that is just nasty.

Reply by Jaunnette Lorimer, July 2014
"THE PROBLEM is that whites often see blacks as a collective" ... Did you not just make a collective as well? Not "some" or "many" or even "most" but a lump. I'm not saying it doesn't happen because I'm not stupid, but believe it or not, hair touching is not exclusively white to black. I had some guy rush up to me in a bar and go "I just have to feel it!" and crunch my hair in his hands. I was baffled, and so shocked all I could do was stand there and then finally go "Uh... okay bye?" and leave. Would I like it to happen again? Hell no, that was just weird. Do I go around touching other peoples hair? Only if I know them! And vice versa, I don't mind people touching mine but not a drive-by hair groping.

Personally, I don't think them doing this exhibit is wrong because I don't think promoting the actual "touching" of their hair is what it was really about so much as opening the conversation about it. As far as being on display I'm sorry you feel that way. Fact of the matter is we're all on display. Flat chest, big boobs,butt-length hair, pixie cut, curly, straight, red, green, purple.

You notice there were no men standing there with signs, I think that speaks to the problem being not just racial but gender. Women, all women, are objectified. Dissected down to a few base features. Isn't right by any means, but that's why opening conversation about it is important.

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RELATED LINK
http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/25/touching.natural.black.hair/index.html

'Can I touch it?' The fascination with natural, African-American hair

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of the YouTube videos that are featured in this post.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.