What Essence Got Wrong About the "Gorilla Glue Girl"

(Credit: Tessica Brown TikTok/Gorilla Glue)

This morning while checking my Twitter feed I came across an article on Essence.com written by Candice Benbow about Tessica Brown, infamously known as the "Gorilla Glue girl". The ignominious title was given to Miss Brown after she posted a video showing off her immovable hair caused by using Gorilla Glue instead of her usual styling glue to hold it in place. Gorilla Glue? Yes, Gorilla Glue, that powerful adhesive used for crafts and DIY projects. The product clearly states on the front of the bottle: "Bonds: Wood, Metal, Fabric, Foam, Plastic, Paper, Glass, Leather and More!" and on the back a caution label warns not to ingest the glue or get it in the eyes or on skin or clothing. 

After reading the label it would be clear to a reasonable person the product isn't the type of adhesive one should use in their hair. For this reason many who are familiar with the story have made the whole situation meme worthy making Miss Brown the butt of many jokes. Some insulting her or questioning her level of intelligence, while others result to cracking jokes. Some people surmise that this whole ordeal was orchestrated by her as an elaborate clout chasing scheme and others empathize with her and this is where we shift our focus to the Essence article.

The Tragic Story of Destiny Harrison

What's the biggest threat to the black community? Most would think racism or white supremacy but there's a far greater threat than those two combined. That threat is self-hatred. This threat is spread like a virus infecting the masses as it's propagated through music, movies, TV shows and planted into the hearts and minds of black folks until finally its physically manifested resulting in some form of negative actions towards self and/or black brothers and sisters that look like you. 

What makes self-hatred so insidious is that a lot of black folks are walking around infected with this nasty bug and have no clue, but let me assure you if you refuse to patronize a business simply because it's black-owned, you have it. If your first inclination when you see a successful black person is to turn up your nose, you have it. If you always feel the need to haggle black business owners (but wouldn't do the same to non-blacks) you better believe you have it! Things can even take a turn for the worse if it's allowed to go unchecked, that same self-hatred will also play a part in you doing the unthinkable to another black brother or sister as was the case in the story of 21 year old Destiny Harrison. Check out the video below: