Go Lean…Caribbean

Go Lean Commentary

“Don’t go changing to try to please me … I love you just the way you are” – Song by Billy Joel
(See Appendix A VIDEO below).

There is the need to reform and transform Caribbean society. Period!

When we say society, we are referring to the community institutions, governmental agencies and … the people.

The people need to change … some more than others. One group needs a lot of help: Black Men & Boys. Another group needs to curtail their behavior and their preponderance to abuse others: White Males. Then there is also one group who needs less of the effort to change but needs to be accepted more … “just the way they are”:

Black females (women and girls).

Don’t get it twisted! Black women are not perfect.

But, they are not inferior either. (See the related news article on “Black Hair and Politics” in Appendix B below).

Yet, these Black women devote so much concern and resources to conform their natural hair to a different standard. This theme has been elaborated on by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean, in these previous Go Lean blog-commentaries:

Network Mandates for a New Caribbean
In the media industry you must look the part. So if you have facial or grooming features that are different – zag while everyone else zig – you may not be selected for promotion and production. …
Caribbean beauty should be recognized in the eyes of Caribbean beholders.
At a bare minimum …
But truth be told, if the media networks in the region are owned by foreign entities, then foreign standards are still “the rule”.

‘Good Hair’ and the Strong Black Woman
Black kinky hair is considered worthless in the global marketplace. But the market for mitigating, treating (chemicals) and covering the hair (wigs & extensions) is worth $9 Billion annually. This seems like such a dichotomy for the Black community, especially among women. This ethnic group prides itself on a proud heritage of Strong Black Women, and yet there is this unspoken rejection of natural Black Hair. This is sad!

Caribbean Image: Dreadlocks
Many people in the Caribbean, though not a majority in the region, wear dreadlocks, despite their occupation. These “locs” can be an expression of deep religious or spiritual convictions, ethnic pride, a political statement, or  simply be a fashion preference. Yet, their wear can be detrimental in job placement and advancement.

It turn out that there is one BIG compelling reason why this may be the norm – religion…

… the African experience in the New World started with the Slave Trade. This was also related in a previous blog-commentary:

European Reckoning – Christianity’s Indictment

The Church felt justified with the Slave Trade, Slavery and Colonialism because of their distorted values to make new disciples at all costs. …

Pope Innocent VIII, he permitted trade with Barbary merchants, in which foodstuffs would be given in exchange for slaves who could then be converted to Christianity. …

… reconciling the European experience, previous submissions addressed European economic leadership. This submission however asserts that the conduct of the Christian-side of White-Christian-European history has been worthy of indictment and the European institutions need to be held to account. Even though the New World and the Caribbean were established by European military power, the Church was aligned and complicit.

The Christian faith of the Europeans is based on The Bible; there is one scripture that has been wrongly interpreted to malign Black Women and their default hair styles. See here, this scripture from 1 Timothy 2:9 and notice the actual prohibition on the hair style of “braided hair” in some translations, while other translations used neutral terms like “elaborate hair” or “immodest hair“:

Biblical Reference: Scriptural “1 Timothy 2:9” Translation Comparison

• New International Version – I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
• New Living Translation – And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.
• English Standard Version – likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,
• Berean Study Bible – Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
• Berean Literal Bible – Likewise also women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
• New American Standard Bible – Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments,
• King James Bible – In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
• Christian Standard Bible – Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,
• Contemporary English Version – I would like for women to wear modest and sensible clothes. They should not have fancy hairdos, or wear expensive clothes, or put on jewelry made of gold or pearls.
• Good News Translation – I also want the women to be modest and sensible about their clothes and to dress properly; not with fancy hair styles or with gold ornaments or pearls or expensive dresses,
• Holman Christian Standard Bible – Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,
• International Standard Version – Women, for their part, should display their beauty by dressing modestly and decently in appropriate clothes, not with elaborate hairstyles or by wearing gold, pearls, or expensive clothes,
• NET Bible – Likewise the women are to dress in suitable apparel, with modesty and self-control. Their adornment must not be with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothing,
• New Heart English Bible – In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing;
• Aramaic Bible in Plain English – Likewise also the women shall be modest in fashion of dress, their adornment shall be in bashfulness and in modesty, not in braiding with gold or with pearls or in gorgeous robes,
• GOD’S WORD® Translation – I want women to show their beauty by dressing in appropriate clothes that are modest and respectable. Their beauty will be shown by what they do, not by their hair styles or the gold jewelry, pearls, or expensive clothes they wear.
• New American Standard 1977 – Likewise, I wantwomen to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments;
• Jubilee Bible 2000 – In like manner also that the women adorn themselves in an honest manner, with shyness and modesty, not with ostentatious hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing
• King James 2000 Bible – In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with decency and propriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
• American King James Version – In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with modesty and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
• American Standard Version – In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment;
• Douay-Rheims Bible – In like manner women also in decent apparel: adorning themselves with modesty and sobriety, not with plaited hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly attire,
• Darby Bible Translation – In like manner also that the women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion, not with plaited [hair] and gold, or pearls, or costly clothing,
• English Revised Version – In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment;
• Webster’s Bible Translation – In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in decent apparel, with modesty and sobriety; not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array,
• Weymouth New Testament – and I would have the women dress becomingly, with modesty and self-control, not with plaited hair or gold or pearls or costly clothes,
• World English Bible – In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing;
• Young’s Literal Translation – in like manner also the women, in becoming apparel, with modesty and sobriety to adorn themselves, not in braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or garments of great price, ….

Source: Scripture 1 Timothy 2:9 – retrieved March 10, 2019 from: https://biblehub.com/1_timothy/2-9.htm

You see it, right?

Considering the full context and the diverse translations, it is self-evident that there is no Biblical prohibition on natural Black Hair, only elaborate/immodest hairstyles.

Yet, many women in the Black community never feel comfortable wearing braids (or dreadlocks) “into Church” (or before God). They would rather press and “perm” their hair, add weaves, wear a wig, and/or wear a hat.

(There is a parallel conflict in the Halls of Democracy; see the related news article on “Black Hair and Politics” in Appendix B below).

This discussion of this actuality completes this series of commentaries from the Go Lean movement. This is part 6 of 6 for Women History Month; this series addresses how women can make a difference in society; and how society can make a difference for women. This submission asserts that Black Women should not have to change anything to conform to some White/European standard, especially their hair; they are adequate, beautiful and complete “just the way they are”. Other commentaries in this series include these entries:

1. Women History Month 2019: Thoughts, Feelings, Speech and Actions
2. Women History Month 2019: Viola Desmond – The Rosa Parks of Canada
3. Women History Month 2019: Kamala Harris – Caribbean Legacy to the White House?
4. Women History Month 2019: Captain Marvel – We need “Sheroes”
5. Women History Month 2019: Ellevest CEO: Sallie Krawcheck
6. Women History Month 2019: Accepting Black Women ‘As Is’

In this series, references were made to a “Next Frontier” of gender relations, how women in modern society are now on the verge of breaking all “glass ceilings” in their communities; maybe even the “Leader of the Free World”. Yes, they can! To transcend to that next plateau, more is needed from the greater population; this means us all.

More?

Actually, the same is needed! The acceptance that all woman, Black women included, are good enough “just as they are”. If there is a problem – there is one – it is a defect with the societal orthodoxies, not our Black women. See this theme developed in these previous blog-commentaries.

It is conceivable, believable and achievable that we can live in a world with empowered women, Black women and all the other ethnic groups. There is beauty in all the races – the Caribbean is constituted with 5 different ethnicities (Amerindian, African, European, Indian and Chinese) fused and intermingled together – there must always be full acceptance of all our strengths and weakness. Keep it real!

There is beauty in each culture too; see Appendix C below. (Though, there may be a  push-back based on a bad orthodoxy, we shall overcome).

The world must accept that women are dutiful partners for elevating society. The world? Yes, but right now our focus and scope is for the Caribbean to accept that women are dutiful partners for elevating our communities. We need, want and love our women … “just the way they are”.

Yes, we can do this – partner up with our women – and make our homeland a better place to live, work and play for all. Let’s do this! Let’s get busy!  🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

• Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
• Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
• Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

—————-

Appendix A VIDEO – Billy Joel – Just the Way You Are (Audio) – https://youtu.be/HaA3YZ6QdJU

Billy Joel
Published on Mar 22, 2013 – In 1977, Billy Joel released his album titled The Stranger. Listen to Billy Joel perform ‘Just the Way You Are‘:  http://smarturl.it/BJ_MOTS_YT?IQid=yt…

Lyrics:
Don’t go trying some new fashion
Don’t change the color of your hair
You always have my unspoken passion
Although I might not seem to care

I don’t want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are.

• Category: Music

—————-

Appendix B – News Article: Ilhan Omar will be first Muslim woman to wear hijab in Congress with Democrats set to end head covering ban

Summary: Democrats worked to change the rule banning head coverings on the House floor …

See full story here: Retrieved March 10 2019: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ilhan-omar-muslim-hijab-congress-democrats-ban-head-covering-a8708696.html

—————-

Appendix C – News Article: Black Women Left Off Cosmo List Of The Most Beautiful Women In The World

Ummm, who approved this list?

See full story here: Posted March 13, 2017; retrieved March 10, 2019: https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/03/13/black-women-left-off-cosmo-list-of-the-most-beautiful-women-in-the-world/?fbclid=IwAR2oNVP5DC0HeTsZEPuiJxb8ZlNyD1Thn6Qrxhz8olYJtknoFjqQJJHwtsE