Re: yeah i get to be different
Ms. Kenesha gave some great suggestions.
As black folks we all come from different walks of life. That is the great thing about our people, and this board. If you would like to learn more about different types of black culture or for anything, the members on the board are a great resource. There are folks here from just about every part of the country and even the U.K.
For example, I am young, and I think pretty cool if I say so myself, and but didn't know anything about Manolo Blahnik Timbs, or 50 cents and a whole bunch of other stuff that is part of "urban" culture until I became a member here. (Not saying that everyone here is "urban." We all bring our unique backgrounds to the table here and some folks who live in NYC know more hip hop culture and fashion than others.)
Other resources to widen your education about black women and black life, should you choose to pursue it, include magazines. Do you have access to Essence, Ebony, Ebony Man? Try to spend some time in the AA section of your local bookstore. Read the classics like Black Boy, Native Sun, Invisible Man, The Color Purple, Their Eyes Were Watching God. These are fiction books but can help widen your appreciation for both the diversity and the commonalities of black life and cuture.
If your total view of Black life is from televison, read Don't Believe the Hype, Fighting Cultural Misinformation about African-Americans by Farai Chideya. Read poems and literature by Amiri Baraka. Read novels by John Edgar Wideman. Read Bell Hooks. If you want a good read about black hair read The Life and Times of Madame C.J. Walker by A'Leila Bundles. (
www.madamecjwalker.com)
Obviously you have the Internet, if you so a search I am sure that you will find a wealth of information on anything you would like to know.
Everyone is not born in the world knowing how to do cornrolls or comb coils, or two strand twists, or french braids, whether you are born in the projects or a white town of 5000 people. It is up to folks to seek out information and solutions to life's challenges.