Christmas is a well-known Christian tradition that remembers the birth of Jesus. In countries like the USA and UK, the majority of people celebrate this holiday whether Christian or not. African Americans and Black Britons typically celebrate Christmas. It is an important part of the year and is deeply rooted in the homes of many black people. Children grow up with Christmas, just as they and their parents and grandparents did. Black Santa is a more and more frequent sight and aligns with a positive change in culture. Christmas was first recorded as a celebration in 336 A.D. in Rome under the reign of Constantine. However, many of the well-known traditions are far more recent in origin such as Kwanzaa which is rooted in the African American Christmas tradition.

Black women are underrepresented in the media and when they are represented, their image tends to stick to stereotypes. So I think it was important to have a discussion about this issue. In this video, I talk with Christelle Kedi, a makeup artist and author, about the history of black women in the media and where these stereotypes come from.

Christelle Kedi is the author of “Beautifying the body in ancient Africa and today” and “Afropolitanism and the Black blogosphere” available at www.booksofafrica.com