Kai GroverHighschool Senior from Chicago, IL. There are many trends in fashion and media that were once just a ¨Black people thing¨ to wear. Mainly Black people, in fashion and media, were the ones to start many trends that soon became popular and even mainstream for other celebrities to use or wear. One issue with this is that Black people wouldn't get the proper recognition for starting these trends. Once it became mainstream, it would seem like something that was made popular by nonblack celebrities. Although before these trends became mainstream, they were called ¨ghetto¨ and ¨ratchet¨ because they were worn by only Black people. When in fact these things would only be ¨ghetto¨ until other cultures are okay with taking it. So I'll list 3 trends that became very popular due to Black culture and people.
Acrylic Nails In today's society, acrylics are now seen as a part of the ¨Instagram baddie¨ troupe or a form of art that includes getting your nails done in the most over the top way, both things being a part of our consumable media. Anyone can get acrylics, or even do them on their own at home, and although Black women aren't the creators, they did push this trend to become a cultural wave. From that, many people have taken acrylic nails turned them into an art form and a culture dedicated to all the girls and guys who love to get their nails done. But then you may ask, how did Black women come into play ? Dating all the way back to 1966, Donyale Luna wore them on the cover of Twen Magazine. She was also the first Black woman to be on the cover of Vogue. Soon 70s disco stars , Diana Ross and Donna Summers wore colorful square tipped nails. Following through to the 80s where Florence Griffith Joyner, the fastest woman of all time, had become an iconic symbol of Black excellence and acrylic. In many ways, Black women used their talents and beauty to amplify that nails were beautiful and suppress the notion that acrylics were ¨tacky¨ and ¨unprofessional¨. Now, you can find just about any runway, fashion magazine or salon that uses nails to display beauty in this way. Hoop Earrings Hoop earrings are a popular piece of jewelry that is a part of streetwear style and the popular y2k style. As hip hop and pop culture began to get more popular, hoops became a staple for fashionable looks at award shows and events. Even before this time, a black jazz performer named Josephine Baker became known to wear large hoops. As a symbol of beauty for African American women and women of color, hoops became a day to day accessory. In addition to that, Josephine was a civil rights activist so it was popular to see black women with hoops, afros and afrocentric clothing. Furthermore, popular singers such as Diana Ross and Cher would help push hoops to become a part of the soul and disco era. Soon enough other recognizable artists like Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott helped push hoop earrings as a sign of beauty and femininity. Sneaker Culture A very popular and well known part of Black culture is how we care about shoes or as some people call it ¨shoe game¨. Sneaker culture emerged in the wake of hip hop and rap culture. The popularity of basketball and Air Jordan´s by Michael Jordan became an elevated signature of quality shoes for many Black youth. Inevitably, Sneaker culture became linked to the streetwear style and seen as a symbol of status. With social media and internet trends in the picture, luxury brands like Alexander Mcqueen and Dior have synchronized to push to larger audiences. Because of Black youth in Urban areas propelled brands like Nike, Converse, Jordans, Adidas, and New Balance to help them become a part of sneaker culture. As they became a part of streetwear culture, it became popular in skateboarding and skaters to wear popular shoes.
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lashunda martinLong term astrologer born and raised on the south side of Chicago Astrology, what is it exactly? How can I be more than one zodiac sign? Why do I not get along with someone the same sign as me? Also what in the world is mercury retrograde? These are all questions I've constantly come across during my years of studying astrology. In this article I'll be addressing these questions the best way possible.
1. WHAT IS ASTROLOGY? Astrology is a very deep study consisting of planets, zodiac signs, and divination. To fully get into the depths of it all would take an entire article. To make this simple think about the saying "as above so below." What happens with the planets, universe, the stars reflects on us here on earth. Astrology is the study of this. For example currently we are in "Capricorn season" meaning the sun is currently in the sign of Capricorn. Capricorn is the sign of time, authority, discipline, resourcefulness. So during this time of year people tend to be more focused on practical matters, order, routine, business plans because we're all operating in the energy of Capricorn as a collective. However other planets' energy can affect this along with the planets in your birth chart. (which I'll talk about later.) 2. IS ASTROLOGY EVIL/ WITCHCRAFT? Now this all depends on who you ask and personal belief. Some religions will say yes astrology is indeed the devil. However as a person who is spiritual rather than religious I strongly disagree. Astrology led me to my true calling as a spiritual practitioner. It has taught me a lot about myself and has only helped guide me through life. However my brother who is a Jehovah witness told me that studying astrology was "devil worshipping" or :witchcraft: when I first started at 11 yrs old. This almost discouraged me but I was already fascinated by it. Lets also be mindful that witchcraft, voodoo, hoodoo are all spiritual practices that are often portrayed negatively . What most people don’t know is the history of it and how it has helped many reach their “higher selves''. To be clear not all astrologers are witches and not all witches are astrologers. So here I am a 24 yr old astrologer. Basically astrology is as good or evil as you believe it to be. 3. HOW CAN YOU BE MORE THAN ONE ZODIAC SIGN? In a sense none of us are just one zodiac sign because we all have an entire birth chart. But for now let's focus on our sun signs. Our sun sign is normally the sign we identify as. Example, you're born January 1st you’ll identify as Capricorn, born February 1st you’ll identify as Aquarius, march 1st you’ll identify as Pisces etc. Alright now it's important to keep in mind the planets and zodiac signs hold strong energy. So every sign has a season , let's stick with Capricorn for right now.. December 22- January 19 are the dates for this specific sign but it's not the cut off per say . Every astrologer is different when it comes to determining the cusp. Some believe it lasts for as short as 24 hours some believe the effects can take place as long a week. Personally I believe the cusp last for at least five days. So December 17- 21st you're a Sagittarius but may have Capricorn tendencies. Again we're talking about energy, and Capricorns energy isn't going to wait exactly till the 22nd to show up. It's the same if you're born December 22-26 you're a Capricorn with some Sagittarian energy as the centaur has not completely faded out yet. It'll work the same as Capricorn season merges into the Aquarius season and continue for the rest of the zodiac. 4. WHY AM I SO DIFFERENT FROM SOMEONE WHO SHARES THE SAME SIGN? Okay so it's time to explain birth charts. So as we know the planets are always shifting. As they shift they move through the zodiac. So imagine the universe taking a photo of the planets the very second you are born. The placements of these planets will make up your birth chart, as all the planets control different things. To give some brief examples mercury rules communication and thought process, Venus rules love and money, the moon rules our emotions etc. Say you and someone else are born June 5 making both your sun placement in Gemini. But that's just one small aspect from your entire chart. Your mercury placement could be in Scorpio while theirs could be in libra. Making the two of you speak and think very differently, whereas you communicate and think more like a Scorpio while they would think and communicate more like a libra.. There are many other things that affect this. Every ten days during a zodiac season the sub ruling planet changes. All Geminis are ruled by mercury as it is their home planet, but only is it both the home and sub ruler to Geminis born within the first ten days of the season. The next ten days are sub ruled by Venus and the last ten days sub ruled Uranus. This is also why you and those that share the same sign may be quite different but still similar in some ways. 5. WHAT THE HELL IS MERCURY RETROGRADE? Mercury retrograde is literally when mercury "appears'' to be moving backwards. But because mercury rules all forms of communication this is why you hear people getting so upset about the retrograde. It can cause bad or miscommunication, issues with phones, not receiving mail, many will tell you to avoid contracts of any kind during this time. Many don't believe in the powerful retrograde but I've witnessed it to be very true. 6. WHO'S FIRST CAPRICORN OR ARIES? This is a very irritating misconception for me personally. Many Capricorns think they are the first zodiac sign due to January 1 being the new year for most people. However in astrology Aries is indeed the first zodiac sign, hence them being the child of the zodiac. Capricorn is actually the tenth zodiac sign. Many spiritualists believe the true new year actually starts on the first day of spring which is also the first day of the Aries season. 7. IS AQUARIUS A WATER SIGN. NO! Aquarians are represented as the water carrier with the water representing infinite knowledge. There are 3 signs for every element. Aquarius, Gemini, libra are air signs. Pisces, Cancers, Scorpios are water signs. Aries, Leo, Sagittarius are fire signs. Capricorns, Taurus, and Virgo are earth signs. I can understand why many people, even some Aquarians themselves, think they're a water sign. Still this is a highly common misconception I've grown tired of. 8. IT'S P-I-S-C-E-S NOT PIECES. I speak for all the Pisces when I say I am over everyone acting like it's so hard to spell Pisces correctly. Like seriously people spell Sagittarius correct before Pisces. Also so many people spell it like pieces as if that's not clearly already a word. Get it right people, P-I-S-C-E-S! 9. WHICH SIGNS ARE GOOD/BAD? This may blow your mind...but none of the signs are bad. Every sign has good and bad qualities. They all have special gifts and areas they dominate in. Also they all have areas they need to work on. Sorry if you came for the bias drama but all signs are amazing. 10. 13 ZODIAC SIGN? Ophiuchus? By now some of you may have heard of Ophiuchus the "13th zodiac sign." However, he isn't as new as some think. I first heard of him back in 2008. Most astrologers still go by the traditional 12 signs. I choose to do this as well as . I feel in the far, far future Ophiuchus will be more common in the study of astrology but for now he's pushed to the background. . I understand why people think astrology is just reading horoscopes for fun. However it’s an actual science based on our planets and more. I do encourage people to look into it, if anything get a birth chart done. Now that we’ve covered some of the misconceptions of astrology, I hope you all enjoyed this article and learned something new.. |
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