There is no such thing as good hair and bad hair. And, an individual with a lighter complexion being better than another whose skin is darker is false.
So, just be proud of who and what you are, and be the best you can be.
This was the advice of outspoken educator and activist MacDonald Fingall to Christ Church Foundation students this morning as he delivered the keynote address at the launch of the school’s African History Month activities.
“Let me tell you something, the hair that grows out from your head has to be good hair, because it is growing from you; and you are good. So, when you get there putting on somebody else’s hair, imitating white people, you are telling me that you are not satisfied with yourself; you don’t like yourself,” Fingall said to loud cheers from the students and spirited drumming from members of the Sons of God Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church, who participated in the service.
Members of the Sons of God Apostolic Church drumming away.
“The clear-skinned people are mixed up. Their great-grandmother got raped and that is how come that they got that clear skin. The blacker you are, the purer you are,” he added.
Fingall noted that while slavery had been abolished many years ago, some Barbadians still appeared to be suffering from it. On that point, he urged the students that as they leaned towards and grasped the concept of the culture of other ethic groups and countries, they must first love and appreciate their own heritage.
He encouraged them to acknowledge, most importantly, the achievements of black men across the world and not to be mentally enslaved.
“You must always walk with confidence and talk with confidence, and believe that you are just as good as everybody else.”
“We accept that Americans are the best in the world; we accept that Canadians are the best in the world. Jamaicans understand that they are the best in the world. How comes we can’t understand that we are the best in the world?” the educator asked, suggesting that Barbadians were “just as good as anybody else in the world”.
Fingall also told the students that the future was merely an expectation and for them to benefit from it they must have a bright present through acquiring an education. He warned them to follow their own paths in life, especially as it related to choosing careers and to be the best at whatever they became.
“God knows what He is doing. He made all of us with different talents and different abilities. He made some of you that you would be engineers; some would be mechanics, teachers . . . . If we were all of the same intellect, the world would be confused,” Fingall argued.
Bishop Malcolm Babb of the Sons of God Apostolic Church lead a team from that organization that delivered the service.
Bishop Malcolm Babb of the Sons of God Apostolic Church in prayer.
Past student and guitarist Ian Alleyne was announced as ambassador for the month which has been themed Rising Above Our Ethnic Challenges: Our Skin, Our Hair And Our Future.
Christ Church Foundation School principal Edward Cumberbatch (right) presenting award to guitarist and past student Ian Alleyne for his contribution to music.
Alleyne was also rewarded by Christ Church Foundation for his contribution to the music industry.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb