During my sophomore year of high school, relaxers had done the final damage I would allow them to do for the rest of my life. I was finished with the fashion statement of having my hair done by a man with haircare gifts from Olympus. He could make my hair do anything a white girl’s could do, and I was done with those kinds of chemicals period. I began my transition in 2005.

My transitional phase was composed of a few different kinds of weaves. During this period, I fell in love with kinky twists. My senior year was my coming out year (in more ways than one). The Afro came out with a BANG! No one saw it coming, especially with the ferocity that it exuded. That year was a time of self-exploration, meaning us-exploration. The first time I was told I looked like Angela Davis was that year. I had to find out who she was. I dig-dugged my way through all kinds of information from home, academic, and government perspectives. I gained inspiration, a new outlook on life, refined goals…

One day I went to the African Street Festival with my mother. I bought necklaces and earrings and bracelets and shirts and hats… My favorite thing I bought was a black tank top with white print of Angela Davis’ face. She was rockin’ that fro, flaunting our power.

Also that year, a black marine who was attending the HBCU Tennessee State University, had me read a book called the “Mis-education of the Negro” by Carter G. Woodson. My life was forever changed. I became the president of the NAACP Youth Council in Nashville, TN. Then I went off to attend the college Carter G. Woodson went to, Berea College in Kentucky. I ended up learning about the importance of community and oneness there. Then I had to use my experience as an executive board member of the Black Student Association at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS (and yes, they were very racist there, including the structure of the administration). We had to fight for everything we did with virtually no support, but we got the job done. We established a sense of community between the black students on campus and performed various events of community service. Our school was gated off from the black community surrounding it. We established days in which we would open gates for children and their families to come in and participate in various activities.

Overall, the impact Angela Davis had and has on my life was and is tremendous. She taught me that if I fight smart, I can achieve what I want, even against the will of the racist pricks who stand in my way (who are sometimes black). If we could do what we did in Mississippi, at a school that banned black sororities yet let a notoriously racist fraternity run rampant, I could achieve my goals on an even larger scale. All it took to open my eyes, was being told that I looked like Angela Davis.

 

Warmly,

Genelle Bundle,

Senior, Psychology Major