Black is Beautiful

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Black is beautiful especially when it comes to our tradition and culture. Let me take weddings as an example of this post. In the short years that I have been on this earth I recently realised that black people don't embrace their beauty fully. A lot of black people don't have traditional weddings, we usually opt to a "white wedding" and this really bothers me because it seems as though we undermine ourselves, as if a Zulu, Tswana or Tsonga themed wedding is not good enough. A wedding is only beautiful if the bride is wearing a white long dress, while the groom wears his suit.

my sister and her husband

What happened to the dancing and singing down the street when the bride and groom come together. We have lost who we are all because we want to fit in, we want to be what we are not. A black couples wedding has become so westernised, that we don't sing praises the night before the wedding. Just look at the beauty of a traditional African wedding. Where you don't have to come by invitation or rsvp, that's not how we do things as Africans, we practise Ubuntu to a point where a stranger can attend you wedding without any invitation. Black people have always had large families, and as long as there is some sort of a blood stream then you are considered as family, you have not seen some of your family members in years but as soon as there is a wedding in the family those very people you haven't seen in ages will show up for your big day. It is such things that make us so unique, the love keeps on growing from generation to generation. Hence we have the saying "Motho ke motho ka batho" (you are what you are because of other people).

We should start to celebrating what we are because this is true beauty. It is not what white people and something they can never take away from us. No one love you unless you love yourself. Love your culture and they will love it too.

Food for thought......