Black Hair Care Documentary: Know-the-Ledge - 1:37 p.m.

In the movie, Latifah's character works as a hair dresser at a 'high end' beauty shop. After getting fired for overstepping bounds - according to the shop owner, Kevin Bacon - she opens her own beauty shop. Comedy ensues. Nicky Mac reviewed it way back then.. I probably would have given it one mo butter.

In any case, in the movie Latifah also has a special hair formula that her customers love and is convinced to manufacture it on a wider scale through a side deal with a big manufacturer. Things happened and unhappened; in the real world, things probably would have happened more like.."You go home now! No sell soul sista products here!"

A black hair care documentary that's been posted online shows the domination of the black hair care industry by Korean store owners, broken down in ways that I didn't realize, and truthfully never thought about. Essentially the documentary says that Koreans have taken the success of their individual stores, to also control distribution of products. The issue at hand: they've also intentionally freezed out black manufacturers in the process.

The owner of Kizure, a maker of curling irons, pressing combs, and hair care products explains:

"We have been in business for over thirty years and we are a black company selling black beauty supplies and also to black hair stylists. We make a quality product. Everyone looks at our product as being the best in the industry. However since the Asians have been here, they are cutting us out telling us our product is not in demand any longer. About three years ago they started to black list our product and they brought their own products in. They started to manufacture curling irons and they duplicate everything that you manufacture. They would duplicate it and they start to slowly cut back on orders and then they tell you that your product is not in demand."

A Korean store owner was asked to see if he had any Kizure products. The guy pointed to five or so curling irons, next to it were nearly three rows of two other brands, one named Stella. When asked who made it, he said it was a wholesaler, then said, ".. actually they make a copy of that brand." And there it was with a sticker that said "certified Kizure craftmanship." For the store owner's part he seemed embarrassed to say it and about the Stella brand added, "Their brands.. they're no good quality. They just copy them."

How do Koreans get the money to start their businesses? Jon Lie, an Asian professor at UC Berkley said they do so through selling whatever they had in Korea, a Korea that is much more enriched then in the past. So by selling their farm or by selling their apartment they have a pot of money to start relatively small businesses in urban areas. Further funding comes from pooling money between friends and family and other sorts of religious networks. I'd guess that there is some leniency at banks, especially Asian banks to provide them with cash. "Oh, you're starting a Chinese restaurant/liquor store/ beauty supply/West Indian vegetable and fruit market? Here you go. *wink* We've got cats too."

The push to funnel the black hair care market got it's start in the 1960's. A respected South Korean newspaper printed this excerpt in it's 1965 archives.. "In the past, wigs were considered luxury goods in the West, but these days they are considered a necessity especially among black women in the United States. What can the government do to help you? All we want is the banning of the export of hair as a raw material."

This would make it nearly impossible for anyone else to manufacture wigs but themselves. The US government followed up with regulations that banned the import of wigs made from Chinese hair. Thereby giving the Koreans a monopoly on the market.

Was there a void in the market? Did the Koreans simply build the stores that black people didn't bother to? For sure there is some of that.. and another issue in itself.

One black man inquiring about the business end of things.. uh, that's not him. Her hair gives the page color.. the guy told this story.

"A funny thing happened in NY. I went into a Korean store and asked him if he could wholesale me some of the things he had. He told me no. I said ok, if you could tell me where I could get it.. He told me the Koreans are not gonna let niggers  get into the business. *laughs* And he's (Korean) in a black neighborhood in Brooklyn."

Links?.. I got links. First this..

Clintex is one of a handful of black manufacturers.. their products are distributed through hair salons. The owner of the store shows how to start a black business from the seed. "After I quit my job, I bought these two stainless steel drums and started in the basement of my home. After the batch was made I would take a measuring cup, go in [the drums] and fill each bottle one at a time."

He's been in the business for 20 years now, has a huge factory but is unable to get distribution through any of the Korean distrubutors. But he holds no grudges.. well sort of "I do not blame the Koreans for anything. It is totally the black consumer. The black business people, black churches, it's our fault because we have not taken the time to educate our people on economics or what we need to be doing to ensure that we have a sound business practice. We haven't taken the time to do that."

"I couldn't get a loan for a business.. but as you can see [20 years later] I am in business today. So you cannot depend on the government for a handout, and you cannot depend on people to help you. We have enough power as a group. If we have the ability to work together and pull together we have enough economic resources within our communities to turn this thing around."

I said sort of because, while he said doesn't pass blame .. He does accept a boycott of those Korean businesses, for the reason of blatantly not distributing products based on that one way racial filter.

Again, I say the issue isn't that Koreans were smart enough to cater to the market. It's that they would purposely not deal with the few black manufacturers out there; especially after bootlegging their products, as well as not wanting to sell their  products to black owned beauty supply stores. That's where the bullshit floats to the top.

One of the people concerned on the black business end, needs to direct their energy to creating a black distribution center for the black products on the market. That's the solution. Forget any boycott. If it's not an everyday public necessity, I'm all for simply shifting money to where there is a little more love… and in this case a little more power.

A funny moment.. in the first clip a Korean woman is showing pictures of people who've come to her store, Janet Jackson, Ike Turner, etc. Which I find hard to believe, because it looks like a low end place. Anyway, she points to the wall and says, "I know him long time… Richard Pryor!" It was a picture of Little Richard. Haha. Hey, we all look alike.

Links - (thanks to Sniper)