Blackfolks

Dead Giveaway - a teachable moment?

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:11:24 GMT

How can a song be so problematic yet so catchy? Also *dead* at the link to the cover song at the end.

This story has been covered on various NPR stations over the last couple of days, not so much focused on the rescued women but the politics of presenting/ portraying the hero in the media has sparked discussions of race and class. So much to say about this. What are your thoughts on the coverage/ subsequent internet meme-ification?

Forgive Me If You've Seen This Before

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:18:19 GMT

My friend showed me this awesome article that made me laugh. It also made me think and remember all the stuff that has happened to me in life growing up in the town I live in where there were virtually no other people of color. People did say a lot of weird and awkward stuff to me.They still do actually. As a kid it hurt a lot. Now as an adult I laugh at it.

These were designed to be funny but they actually do happen to people and not just black people. My friend Izzy who is half Chinese gets the same crap hurled at her all the time.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/27-things-you-had-to-deal-with-as-the-only-black-kid-in-your

Just in case anyone is wondering I had to endure the following ones (and more than once especially #10).

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 27

Black women and uterine fibroids

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 07:50:51 GMT

I'm about to be tested for this so I thought I'd post this in case some people have similar symptoms. African-American women are three times more likely than other ethnicities to have them.

What are uterine fibroids?

From the government

And don't worry if you have your hair permed...

But there is positive coorelation with child abuse before the age of 11

Foul Language on the Bus

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:10:48 GMT

I was riding the bus today and a bunch of young black guys (25 years old and younger, I believe) were ranting about life. That was fine, but their language was so horrendous. "Bitch" this and "Nigga" that and "shit" this. They went on and on, getting louder and louder, until the conversation turned to how they never wanted to "bang basic bitches" and instead, would turn to teachers and deans and school counselors. Yeah, that was an actual conversation.

Normally I'm immune to this kind of language, but near the front of the bus, a little girl (maybe about five or six) sat with her father. I gave eye-rolls to the dad, and he seemed to understand that I didn't approve of the language, but the little girl...just the look on her face. At first I thought she was oblivious to it all, but as the language got worse and the situations more graphic, I could tell she knew it was "bad."

I was torn between checking these guys and my fear of being attacked, verbally or physically. At the end of it, I felt slightly abnormal and disappointed with myself. This little black girl, who basically is new to the world, was assaulted by a bunch of young black men. Why? They saw her. The knew she was there. They had an entire conversation about how women in Chicago get "split" from ear to ear in gang violence. As a positive.

What would you have done in this situation?

"Georgia, where have you been all this time?" said 1968

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:40:09 GMT

Georgia students want to hold first integrated prom in their high school's history via ThinkProgress.org

Note the date of the article. Discuss.

Educationally Yoked?

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:37:10 GMT

I posted this question earlier today on my facebook page and it made for interesting discussion but I'm curious to know what Blackfolk think:

Over the last few days, I keep running across these articles that suggest that women with higher ed degrees basically 'belong' with men with degrees. One of them went so far as to say that a woman with a degree would be "bored" with a man without some higher learning. How important is being equally educated? Is making a big deal out of it (or a conscious decision to make it a dating/marriage requirement) a cultural thing?

Posted via m.livejournal.com.

Extra extra friendly zoo

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:00:42 GMT

Close Encounters An Outdoor // Nature Blog

Go cheek to whisker at Argentina’s Lujan Zoo

The wisdom—and track record—of the zoo is hotly debated

March 31, 2013
by Shannon Dybvig

5.2K

Many of the animals here are former illegal house pets that are given to the zoo after outgrowing their homes. Image by Zoo De Lujan

With the weather getting warmer, it’s time to get back outside and reconnect with the wildlife—and no place will let you get closer to the wildest of wild things than Lujan Zoo in Argentina. Located just outside Buenos Aires, Lujan Zoo provides zoogoers the opportunity to bottle feed a bear, cuddle a tiger, or rub noses with a lion, and, if these pictures are accurate, walk away un-mauled. While many visitors assert the animals are clearly drugged, the zoo insists the tameness is entirely natural, a product of raising each cub from birth and teaching them to be calm, permissive, and uninterested in eating humans.

Since opening in 1994, there have been no reports of unexpected predation, but whether that perfect record is due to good training, luck, or bribery of authorities is hotly debated. Check out this extreme petting zoo below, and remember, the Lujan Zoo is one of the only places in the world where you can pet wild animals, an extremely dangerous activity that you should not take lightly and should never try outside the confines of such facilities.

The zoo says that, in addition to training, keeping the animals constantly fed helps to maintain calm passivity. Image by Zoo De Lujan Con Las Superguias

Lujan Zoo received these brown bears when they were just two months old. Now full grown, the zoo assures they still enjoy bottle feeding, or eating food offered directly from visitors’ mouths. Image by Zoo De Lujan Con Las Superguias

Even tigers need belly rubs. Lujan Zoo currently holds more than 60 of these stripy felines. Image by Zoo De Lujan Con Las Superguias

Lions were part of the inaugural menagerie when the park opened in 1994, along with a monkey, two donkeys, two ponies, llama, deer, and some peacocks. Image by Zoo De Lujan Con Las Superguias

Even though visitors go cheek to whisker with big cats daily, Lujan Zoo has reportedly never had an accident. (While the observant may notice the scratches on this woman’s side, it is unknown where they came from.) Image by Zoo De Lujan Con Las Superguias

Not all residents are furry. Lujan Zoo hosts two female elephants in addition to a wide variety of reptiles and birds. Image by Zoo De Lujan Con Las Superguias

If you’re not one to trust a tiger, Lujan Zoo does offer tamer fare, such as camel and pony rides. Image by A. Pereira

Lujan Zoo has animals of all ages and welcomes humans of all ages. Children under 12 are admitted at a reduced rate and those under 2 get in free. Image by Zoo De Lujan Con Las Superguias

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/go-cheek-to-whisker-at-argentinas-lujan-zoo/

Would you all go here or do you think it's a front for the United Animal Federation? IDK I might pet the lion. tiger, or bear, but no way in hell would I feed it from my mouth or sit my toddler down with a bunch of cubs. Yes, they are adorable and cuddly but just one of them is as big as the baby.

The Trouble With 'Borrowing' Black Music

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 06:35:09 GMT

Huff Po had an interesting discussion today on Justin Timberlake's latest album success. Watch it here.
Thoughts on whether you agree with the idea posed in the discussion that being white and doing 'black music' takes away from black artists like it did 50 years ago?

Y'all See This?

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 02:33:01 GMT

I can't remember if this was ever posted here or not, but that Dear White People trailer won the IndieWire/Tribeca Film Festival's Project of the Year.

Original Video:

How do you think this would fare as an actual short/full-length film?

23 and me update

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 02:29:11 GMT

they got rid of the ancestry painting and replaced it with a more expanded ancestry composition.

all i know is that my mother's family is african, irish, and seminole and my father's family is african, german, and cherokee (lol). nothing new here, right?

wrong!
i knew about the british/irish, but what's with the scandinavian? does this finally explain my unnatural attraction to marimekko textiles and finnish design? who was this and when did that happen? i'm assuming the non-specific northern european was german/swiss/alsatian, but what about the non-specific southern european? that was news to me. same with the east and south asian. who? when? where? i need more answers!!

Have you seen this photo series?

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:23:23 GMT

"Because of them, we can"
http://becauseofthemwecan.com/

and

and a favorite...

Continue On

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:12:47 GMT

So glad to see so many of you still here! I agree, we need to get the ball rolling again, even if it is just to reconnect on a social level.

There was a point when I would have said that I "moved on" from LJ. But I never have. I download it on every new piece of tech I have. I haven't outgrown it, nor you as we have all merely grown UP together and continue to grow!

In a way, I love that Blackfolk served it's purpose for me. And I realize that my purpose for it was extremely different than maybe a lot of other purposes. And I think that's what made it great, and made it so widespread. That it was just a platform. A trunk for many different branches to sprout from. Well the leaves are gone and some branches are cracked and broken. But the Trunk is still solid and strong. Blackfolk will continue to be everything I need it to be, everything YOU need it to be, and everything WE make it. Post about whatever you like; We're still here reading.

The Smalls Family take BIG's "Warning" to a whole new dramatic level

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:37:53 GMT

THIS IS AMAZING

what happened to blackfolk?

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:27:06 GMT

so this community is pretty much dead, then? :(

anyone here? caller, are you there?

Abortion itself is not reproductive freedom, adventures at dailykos...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 00:40:42 GMT

Abortion itself is not reproductive freedom, abortion is one of many technologies that can help make reproductive freedom a reality. Some other technologies are other types of contraception and methods that increase fertility. If we mistake abortions themselves for "freedom" we could incorrectly conclude that black women, who have more abortions per capita than white women, must be more "free" when it comes to control of our wombs.

The reality is, in fact, the reverse of this.

This diary is, in part a response to this attempted exoneration of planned parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, from accusations of racism and supporting eugenics. (I think there is strong evidence that she did support some kinds of eugenics. Moreover, white people who were not racist in that time period were very rare. I do think, nonetheless, that she cared about black people and wanted to "help." But, she can do both of those things and still be racist. And her being racist dosen't mean planned parenthood is a bad organization.) And, we could spill a lot more ink arguing about if she was racist or not, if she supported eugenics or not, but really this would miss the point.

Because even if she is not connected to the eugenics movement other people were, it was a real thing it was related to abortion access for poor and minority women, and it isn't totally dead.

So, what we really need to talk about are the reasons why so many black people have deeply ambivalent feelings about the "success" (as it is sometimes called) of falling birth rates among black women in the US. This very sudden and drastic decline in black babies being born has happened mostly through increased rates of abortion among black women to the point that black women make of 30% of all women who get abortions every year despite being 12% of the overall population. True success would look more like falling birth rates and falling abortion rates. Abortion is an important tool, but it is not without costs.

Part of this is because many pro-life groups have ignored black women in their quest to "save" the unborn from abortion. I remember a few years back there were some ads on the train from a pro-life group (one of the more sinister ones that pose as family planning clinics that try to convert women who know they want an abortion in to their way of seeing things) these adds advertised "free help for pregnant women" and pictures of sullen-looking white teen girls. Often, it'd say something like "I just didn't know what to do but ____ clinic helped!" A quick phone call on my part confirmed that they did not do abortions, rather they would do an ultra-sound then show the young mother her "baby" -- show manipulative films and generally make women feel like abortion was very wrong and very bad. They didn't provide any real pre-natal care either not so much as a packet of folic acid tablets. (what a scam)

The thing is these ads that only showed white women were in a city where only 35% of the population is white, and moreover, the young people in the worst economic circumstances are almost universally black and Latino. (the ones who'd nee "help") So, most organizations from churches to free clinics feature very diverse advertisements in this city.

But, no, not these pro-life people.

Now, I don't think that they were sitting there rubbing their hands in a dark room saying "muahahaha we'll only save the white babies!" In fact, I know of a few black women who were bamboozled by them. So, they take all comers. But, I do think that the images that they choose say something about their world view. And it's a reflection of broader social values not just those of pro-lifers. Like the way that missing white children get so much more attention in media than missing black and Latino kids. It is part of the cultural mirror that shows us our values. (and the flaws in those values)

What the cultural mirror shows is this endless destructive drumbeat of a simple message "you are not valuable or important. you are not worth saving." And it's not universally coming from "the right" either.

For example, health care providers can be insensitive about the way that they present options to black women. It can be quiet hard to get help if you are having fertility issues as a black women. I have experienced this indifference myself. Many doctors think the only fertility problem black woman have is having too many kids.

I first found out about this issue reading Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts. It's a really great book that brings out statistics and ethnographic studies to add missing dimensions to this issue.

The fundamental thing however is that black lives (black children) have not been valued in the same way as white children. So some of us wince when the high number of black women having abortions comes up. Too often, black children are seen as a problem. A black woman who is pregnant faces a lot of pressure to have an abortion (along with messages that she is a bad person for having and abortion it's a no win situation, very much like the slut/prude divide women of all colors face.) --This pressure comes from poverty, it comes from media, it comes from health care providers. And a single black mother will encounter outright disdain. What images has media linked to the phrase "single black mother" in your mind? Are any of them positive or beautiful? Most likely not. How dare she have a child! --I have had to work hard to rebuild those image in my own mind. Now I think of all of the wonderful "single black mothers" that I know and their amazing cute kids.

There is a long ugly history:

The U.S began to heavily support population control policies abroad, arguing that population control was vital in the fight against communism. Domestically, the success of the Civil Rights movement in challenging segregation caused many politicians to become increasingly fearful of African American political power. Instead of offering a political argument, they coded their concerns by claiming that Black ghettos would continue to grow, and that a growing welfare class predominately concentrated in inner cities would cause crime rates to skyrocket.

As a result, conservative support for federally-supported family planning grew. Former president Richard Nixon said in 1970, “It is my view that no American woman should be denied access to family planning assistance because of her economic condition.” He established the Office of Economic Opportunity to fund family planning programs, particularly in Latino and African American communities, arguing that such programs would reduce health and welfare costs.

The establishment of family planning programs in mainly Black and Latino urban areas in the South caused a division between white conservatives. On one hand, some whites wanted programs that implemented eugenical ideas about reducing the populations of people of color. On the other hand, a strong portion of the conservative white American population was threatened by the idea of all women controlling their fertility. They were especially concerned that white women would have access to family planning intended for women of color. In clinics throughout the South, white women were actively discouraged from using these services, such as in Louisiana and Arkansas. This split among conservatives over family planning was not healed until after Nixon, when Ronald Reagan helped launched the “Moral Majority” to put conservatives back in power in 1980.

(source A Short History of African American Women and Abortion, Muna Abdullahi)

At the same, time too many black women do not feel empowered enough to insist on contraception with their partners. And access to health care makes contraception such as the pill harder to get as well. This goes right back to a total failure to teach black girls that they are beautiful, special unique and valuable. That their bodies matter. It is very hard for parents to fight the tide of negative images and messages girls encounter.

So, rather than trying to cover up our countries history of eugenics and its decedent modern racism we really need to talk openly about what real reproductive freedom would be.

Real reproductive freedom means never feeling bad about asking your partner to wear a condom. It means easy and affordable acces to birth control such as the pill. It means choosing to have an abortion of you need one. It means having a child if you want to and are ready to care for that child. It means equal access to fertility treatment, and doctors not questioning your desire to have a child. It means no more women who think about what might have been if they had the baby or if they didn't have the baby because they subverted their will to avoid being a "single black" statistic-- or to avoid being a "sinning selfish slut."

wash day

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:33:52 GMT

Dov Hikind is a Very Odd Duck

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:29:21 GMT

(This is a post I made on Facebook earlier today)

Holy hell what is wrong with people?

I am one of those who believe that the best of people can do something racist and not be a racist. They feel and express true remorse for what they did/said.

New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind I’m not so sure about. He decided to dress as a black basketball player at a Purim party held at his home. He wore black face. Let’s sit with that one a moment. Blackface. As in Al Jolson and old timey minstrel shows.

He finally issued an apology today, "I am sincerely sorry that I have hurt anyone. I apologize for the pain that I have caused anyone by this incident, and by any remarks that I have made in connection with it". Personally I found it a bit anemic in the face of all some of the statements he made before

Let's take a look of some his other statements since the story broke. These are all direct quotes:

From his official blog in a post (that is still up) entitled, "It's Purim. People Dress Up, "I am intrigued that anyone who understands Purim—or for that matter understands me—would have a problem with this. This is political correctness to the absurd. There is not a prejudiced bone in my body.

He told local radio news 880 WCBS, "“If I was black, on Purim I would have made my face look like I was white"

On the Internet talk show the assemblyman said, "Maybe I would be a gay person on -- by the way, would that be OK, Zev? If I played a gay person next year?"

And Finally a direct quote he made that was reported in today's New York Times, "Next year I was thinking I’d be an Indian,” he said. “But you know, I’ve changed my mind about that. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Somebody will be offended.”

You can never truly know what is in someone heart and mind but I'm sensing that despite his apology, he still doesn't get why people were offended by his donning blackface.

Ho-ly Hell, what is wrong with people?

Diversity in Technology Industry

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:32:23 GMT

Learnings
Last night I went to a Black History Month Celebration/ diversity panel put on by a Blacks in Tech group at the local Googleplex where everyone-- with the exception of five people and the hosts of the event-- in a room of at least 80 people was black. A few were within a couple of generations from the African continent or the UK. Used to being one of a few POC and often the only WOC in professional technology spaces I was stunned.

Stunned in a "Wow, who knew there were so many black professionals this space?" way. Topically the panel's conversation wasn't so much focused on specific technology. The panel focused on careers in tech entrepreneurship and promoting the values of Science, Tech, Engineering, Math (STEM) endeavors to the youth. The message was 'This is where we are. Blacks are overwhelmingly consumers of tech products but there are not many involved the creation and building of technology and their applications. We need to do better at helping each other grow in STEM careers, and building STEM awareness should start in the home, ideally to youth before they reach the 3rd grade.'

I am glad that discussions like that are happening. However I also feel that they tend to lead to obvious conclusions with no actionable plan to improve the numbers of black professionals in these fields. See the example below.

Parents make the extra effort to educate your kids!
The problem with this edict is that this completely ignores the fact that the parents themselves don't have the STEM education, along with socioeconomic factors in play which lead to parents not being there in the first place.

With exceptions of course, these kids are predominantly raised in working class or lower middle class households headed by single parents or a guardian. Those parents need to work constantly just to make ends meet and cannot afford tutors and tech camps while they are working and so kids are left to their own devices... unless there's some kind of accessible after school community program to engage in to 'keep the kids off the streets'. Many of these community programs available only offer basic activities like sports or games with the option to do homework or whatever until the parents get done with work.

Going above and beyond is not stressed to these programs by the parents and not stressed to the parents by those running the programs, due to funds, limited time, or interest. That's something that needs to shift before any growth can truly occur.
What are your thoughts?

Will Peroxide Damage My Hair? | BeyondJane

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:28:36 GMT

http://beyondjane.com/beauty/hair/will-peroxide-damage-my-hair/

WHITNEY HOUSTON'S BROTHER: "I Got Whitney Hooked On Crack"

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:09:12 GMT

Whitney Houston's brother says HE'S to blame for introducing the singer to drugs like crack cocaine back in the '80s ... not Bobby Brown ... and last night he came clean to Oprah.

Michael Houston sat down with his mother Cissy and spilled his guts to Her Royal O-ness on "Oprah's Next Chapter" ... admitting he was the first person who did drugs with Whitney.

Michael says he feels extremely guilty for Whitney's death -- but says he didn't realize how deadly drugs could be when he first brought them to Whitney's doorstep ... explaining, "You gotta understand at the time ... the 80s ... it was acceptable."

Houston adds, "It's painful ... I feel responsible for what I let go so far."

Whitney died in Beverly Hills last February after a drug binge that included cocaine, Xanax and marijuana.

"Acceptable"? Really, Mike?

http://www.tmz.com/2013/01/29/whitney-houston-michael-brother-crack-drugs-oprah/#ixzz2JNgi4dfE
Visit the TMZ Store: http://tmzstore.com

http://www.tmz.com/2013/01/29/whitney-houston-michael-brother-crack-drugs-oprah/

Personal Histories

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 07:18:11 GMT

I wanted to pass this along in case anyone might be interested.

I stumbled on this guy names Dan Curtis who is a Professional Personal Historian. He is a member of something called the Association of Personal Historians (http://www.personalhistorians.org/index.php). Since I had never heard of them before I had to do some digging. Looking through their website I was struck by the alarming lack of people of any color in their examples or among their membership.

We are a people with a rich history that is the story of America yet you would think we did nothing of any note until the Civil Rights Movement. From Civil Warriors to Buffalo Soldiers to both waves of the Great Migration ours is a story that is never told in history classes and what little is out there is segregated to the ghetto of Black History Month.

If anyone if interested n capturing family histories (either their own or someone else's) this might be a good resource. Dan Curtis published the 50 Best life story questions (http://dancurtis.ca/2011/01/26/the-50-best-life-story-questions/) and I have posted them below.

If you could do one thing over in your life, what would it be?
What makes you happy?
Looking back on your life, what do you regret?
What do you believe to be true?
What is the secret to a happy life?
What do you believe happens to us after we die?
Who’s had the greatest influence on your life and why?
What are the qualities that you admire in your friends?
What is the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?
How would you describe yourself?
If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
What’s important in your life?
If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?
What’s a secret ambition of yours?
Who in your life would you like to thank and for what?
What principles have guided your life?
Where do you find serenity?
What makes you sad?
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your life?
How would you like to be remembered?
If you had only one day to live, how would you live it?
How would you describe your spiritual beliefs?
Who is the most important person in your life today and why?
What was the worst job you ever had and why was it so bad?
What’s your idea of a good time?
What’s wrong with the world?
What’s one big question you’d like answered?
What is it that you absolutely couldn’t live without?
How would you describe yourself as a child?
What’s the greatest gift you could give to someone you love?
What does love mean to you?
What was the best job you ever had and why was it the best?
If you had to evacuate your home immediately and could take only one thing, what would it be and why?
What do you still want to accomplish?
What’s right with the world?
What’s one thing you’d like to change about yourself?
How would you describe your perfect day?
What event in your life would you like to live over and why?
What are you avoiding?
What are your best qualities?
What’s the most romantic thing you’ve done for someone?
Who are your heroes and why?
What are your failings?
What’s the kindest thing you’ve done for someone?
What is more important to you, challenge or comfort and why?
If your life were a motion picture, what would the title be?
Who in your life would you like to forgive and for what?
What would you place in a time capsule that would tell a relative 1oo years from now who you were?

Hackers target Westboro Baptist Church after Newtown threat

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:24:57 GMT

After church leaders announce plans to protest at site of school massacre, Anonymous posts the personal information for dozens of members of the extremist group, including names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers.

A group attached to the online hacktivist group Anonymous claims to have hacked the Web site of the Westboro Baptist Church in response to plans by the controversial church to picket the funerals of those massacred Friday at a school in Newtown, Conn.
As part of a campaign dubbed #OpWestBoro, KY Anonymous said yesterday it posted the personal information belonging to members of the extremist organization, which is best known for conducting protests designed to disrupt the funerals of members of the military killed in action. The data dump included the names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and physical addresses of dozens of alleged members of the religious organization. The group did not indicate where or how it acquired the data.
The hackvitist group announced the move after several Westboro Baptist Church members announced the group's intention to target Newtown, which was the site of a school shooting Friday that claimed the lives of 26 people, 20 of whom were children ages 6 to 7.

Along with the data, KY Anonymous posted a video (see below) in which it pledged to derail the church's efforts.

In addition to military funerals, the church group has also targeted the funerals of prominent civilians, including that of Steve Jobs.
In a related action, a petition has been posted to WhiteHouse.gov asking President Obama to have Westboro Baptist Church legally recognized as a hate group. Posted Friday, the petition already has more than 46,000 signatures, nearly twice the number needed for it to attract the president's attention. The petition states:
Their actions have been directed at many groups, including homosexuals, military, Jewish people and even other Christians. They pose a threat to the welfare and treatment of others and will not improve without some form of imposed regulation.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559468-93/hackers-target-westboro-baptist-church-after-newtown-threat/

Theater job opportunity, Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Af-Am / Black Hair Care Specialist

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 21:03:59 GMT

Apologies if this doesn't fit here, but the deadline is December 12, 2012 so I wanted to get out the word quickly.

WIG AND HAIR RUN CREW - AFRICAN AMERICAN/BLACK HAIR CARE SPECIALIST

Click here for a complete job decription
http://www.osfashland.org/en/work-with-us/job-opportunities#Wig and H RCAABHCS

The
Oregon Shakespeare Festival is seeking a highly skilled and experienced
Wig and Hair Run Crew and African American/Black Hair Care Specialist.
OSF mounts 11 shows in rotating repertory over an 8 ½ months/ 800
performance season. The run Crew/Specialist member applies wigs prior to
performances, performs wig changes during the show, performs
maintenance on wigs and facial hair, and acts as the principal hair care
provider for OSF African American Acting Company members.

We
are searching for an individual who has backstage theatrical
experience, knowledge of theatre etiquette, and has expertise in
African American Hair care and styling. Successful applicants must have
or be able to secure an Oregon State Cosmetology License. Applicants
without an Oregon Cosmetology license must have a Cosmetology license
from another state and must be prepared to take the examination and
other necessary steps to obtain a cosmetology license in Oregon upon
being hired. OSF will cover the fees associated with acquiring the state
license. Ventilating experience is helpful but not required. Must be
able to participate in a positive way in groups and operate
autonomously.

Contract
dates are from late February through October, 2013. Pay rate will be
competitive and commensurate with skill and experience. Some benefits
include medical, dental and vision insurance, and a matching retirement
program. Some relocation assistance may be available. Successful
candidates will be required to pass a background check.

At
OSF we believe that diverse ideas, cultures and traditions reflect the
broad diversity of the nation and enrich our insights into the work we
present on stage. We are committed to diversity in all areas of our
work, including play selection, casting, marketing and public relation
efforts, education programs, strategic recruitment of staff and
volunteers, and the composition of the Board of Directors. People of
color are encouraged to apply.

If
you wish to apply for this position please read carefully the following
application instructions, if you do not include all of the requested
materials, your application will be incomplete and will not be
considered. No phone calls please.

To apply, please send in a single e-mail a) cover
letter addressing your qualifications for the position and your plan to
secure an Oregon Cosmetology license if you don’t have one b) résumé, c) 3 professional references (name and phone number) and d) portfolio of your work to humanresources@osfashland.org.
For this particular position, we will continue to receive applications
while this job posting appears on our website; however, we encourage
qualified applicants to please submit their materials by December 12,
2012. All documents must be in Word or PDF format. In order to avoid
spam and scams, we request that you type in the subject line of your
email the following information:

Wig
and Hair Run Crew African American/Black Hair Care Specialist: Your
Last Name, Your First Name (Source from which you learned about this
position)

Example Wig and Hair Run Crew African American/Black Hair Care Specialist: Capulet, Juliet (OSF website)

Foolish Friday: Key & Peele: Suburban Zombies

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 19:27:38 GMT

Jay Pharoah Slaying as Katt Williams on SNL

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 21:33:30 GMT