To the OG Ghetto Girls

To the ghetto Black girls, the originators of the culture. The ones that start all the trends; from bamboo earrings too long and bedazzled nails. I see you and I thank you.

For a very long time, I thought like the rest of society. Neon hair and blinged out nails are so ghetto. Thank God for growth. I am proud to be apart of the gang. I used to be so scared to experiment with my hair or nails. Anything outside the norm had me scared that I’d be deemed unprofessional. It wasn’t until I was working in an all-white space that I really got in my Black Girl Bag! Because I was in this space, I felt the need to be extra Black and not suppress who I was. I had purple hair, green hair.

I’ve tried orange hair and now I’m walking around looking like a Banana Flavor Laffy Taffy and LOOKING GOODT!

What we do with out hair and nails is our way of linking back to the motherland. Weaves and wigs are nothing new to the babies of the diaspora. The large earrings been in our bloody. They look down on us for twerking but what’s really the difference from African dancing? The YTs are so made us because they tried to do all they could to strip us of our culture but the bonds were so tight that we made a way to stay connected!

Happy Juneteenth to my Ghetto Girls; past, present and future! You are the trendsetters!