Analysis Of Balm By Lonnae O Neal Parker And My...

The attitudes and arguments towards and against black hair in â€Å"Balm† by Lonnae O’Neal Parker and â€Å"My First Conk† by Malcolm X are contingent because they express two distinct views on black hair. Malcolm X pleads that manipulation of our hair by straightening or covering by wig is self- degradation. While Parker believes that the time she spent doing her daughters hair is translated to the love she has for them. This time not only assures the girls that they have a loving mother, it assures Parker that she could send them out into a world that would appreciate them because they had someone who put time (love) into the girls. Parker is aware of the scary truth that our worth by outside world is one dimensional and fuel by aesthetics. Both Lonnae O’Neal Parker and Malcolm X have analyze the importance of hair in the black community. Parker praises the â€Å"black hair ritual† while Malcolm criticizes it. Even though their topics differ, bo th essays share the act of taming natural hair, and the motifs of love and pain Taming the natural state of black hair is the key idea in both essays. Parker associates taming her daughters’ hair with the amount of love she has for them, and that of her mother had for her. She reflect to when she rushed through her daughters head pulling apart kinks and coils, this saddens her. Now she can cherish the time she has with them more because she understands how precious it is. Each time she does her daughters’ hair there is a bonding experience