THE SENTINEL OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AT NC STATE UNIVERSITY
NUBIAN MESSAGE My Black is Beautiful RALEIGH, NC n VOL. XIII, ISSUE 16 n THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM n FEBRUARY 27, 2013
The “Black is Beautiful” movement spread across the United States during the 1960s.
T
his movement aimed to dispel the notion in cultures around the world that black people’s natural features- such as, hair, skin tone, and facial features- were inherently ugly or inferior. By igniting a sense of pride within the black community, the Black is Beautiful movement has helped combat the Eurocentric standard of beauty that implies typically black features are less attractive or desirable than typically white features.
Promoted by black icons such as Angela Davis, this movement encouraged African Americans to embrace their natural features and to stop trying to
eliminate their African traits through actions such as straightening their hair and bleaching their skin. Today, this movement still works to celebrate the diverse and collective beauty of black culture.