I do not and have not and never will look like Dorothy or Halle or Beyonce – and neither will I look like Angela Bassett or like either of the singing Patti’s or like any of the singer/actor Reginas – all of these singing/acting black women are beautiful and real.

As a child, I only had Lena, Dorothy and others who looked similar, to fashion after. What a welcome we women of color felt to the next generation of beauties: Cicely Tyson, Judith Jamison. The next wave: Afro-wearing sistahs ie; Natalie Cole, Angela Davis- not only got our style approval, but our cultural pride was stirred to new depths as their boldness encouraged us to embrace our natural beauty.

Today, I look forward to keeping my granddaughter, Autumn, for a couple of weeks this summer. Of course, one main concern is for her haircare/hairstyling. Autumn has options: braids, press and curl or perm. Either style will not take away from her beauty or her racial pride.

But in all honesty, she will probably just want to look more like whatever style Malia Obama is wearing. Hmmm…My granddaughter wants to look like the eldest daughter of the President of the United States.

Now that is Black Beauty, and that is real!