Solange’s “Don’t Touch My Hair” & Nina Simone “Mississippi Goddam”
By Becky R. Webb
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTtrnDbOQAU&feature=youtu.behttp://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ25-U3jNWM&feature=youtu.be
This week we are focusing on United States Black Feminism, and Solange and Nina Simone are just two of the many figures we could have chosen to look more into. The two videos we watched were Solange’s “Don’t Touch My Hair” music video and Nina Simone Performing “Mississippi Goddam”. Both of these women reflect black feminism in their times. They created very different types of music, but with the same purpose to get across ideas of black feminism. Solange’s “Don’t Touch My Hair” song lyrics encourage those to understand that her natural African American hair is connected to so many layers of who she is. It is her crown. It channels her pride. It ignites her mouth, giving her the strength to speak up in times of injustice. Clarifying that what those around her say about her hair will not stop her from accepting and being proud of the way her hair naturally comes from her scalp or how she chooses to wear it. Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam” points out Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi for their oppression of African Americans. One of the lyrics is “Black cat crossed my path, I think every day’s gonna be my last”. Here Ms.Simone refers to the feeling of oppression as being cursed when she says “black cat crossed my path” because the African Americans in these specific places have no control over what happens in their day to day life. It is as if they are living a cursed life.
The artists lived at two different points in the Black liberation movement. Nina Simone focused on the oppression of all African American lives in these specific parts of the United States; while Solange focused on the liberation of African American Features. The lyrics of her song focus on hair and the pressure African Americans have to face when it comes to wearing their hair naturally or any way they see fit, but her music video shows visuals to liberate hair texture, hairstyle and body types. Solange also includes many different body types within her music video and emphases them with clothes that draw attention to the different curves of the individual dancers. Emphasizing all the different shapes African Americans come in is beautiful. Nina Simone focused on the liberation of the lives of African Americans and Solange focuses on the liberation of the appearance and acceptance of African American features.