Our Hair is NEVER "Too Black": The Beauty & Power in Our Hair
A Word
Our hair. The source of so much beauty and power. AND the target of so much bigotry. The bigotry? Where shall we start?
How about:
Google's algorithmic bias having our hair show up when folx type "unprofessional hair"?! | Don't worry. A Black woman, Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble, discovered it, rang the alarm, wrote a book and more.
New York City only recently passed a law to ban hair discrimination against us? | Black women and our allies helped make this happen.
The national show "America's Got Talent" telling Gabrielle Union her hairstyles were "too Black". | Dont worry. Black women piped up and showed tf out with the #BlackHairChallenge.
And that's just recently. This list of bigotry spans centuries... But, you know what else extends even further in time?
Our love affair with our hair.
Whether coily, loose, styled, free, weaved, natural, we've done it all and continue to remix and reimagine all we can say and do with our hair. That's beautiful. That's powerful.
Let’s celebrate our traditions of past and present.
Us Then
Imagine being stolen from everyone and everything you love and still having the genius to hide sustenance in your hair for the journey ahead? Once in new land, then using your hair to braid the path to freedom along your scalp.
Such is the Black Girl Genius of our ancestors; a genius we've inherited.
A Lil Sustenance for the Journey
The Braided Path to Freedom
Us Now
Today, so many among us continue this tradition. Meet Artists and Visionaries Tawny Chatmon, Nikki Nelms, and Susan Oludele. From capturing our beauty in photographs, styling faves Beyonce & Solange, to creating hair masterpieces with anything from coins to cowry shells, these Black women YES to us and our hair.
Know them. Join them. Celebrate.
Tawny Chatmon, Artist & Visionary
An "army-brat" born in Tokyo and raised all over the world, Tawyny is a self-taught visual artist. Her work spans many mediums, but photographer is her home.
“While we proudly celebrate and adorn these styles with beads, barrettes and other accessories within our cultural norms, they continue to be labeled unacceptable. It is my intention to celebrate and reinforce the beauty of black hair, features, life, and culture. These portraits are meant to act as a counter-narrative and redemptive measure to uplift and elevate black hair, tradition and culture freeing us from negative stereotypes.”
Nikki Nelms, Artist & Visionary
A Florida native, Nikki was the girl who would gel those edges DOWN. Now, she's the stylist behind many of our faves, i.e. Janelle Monae, Solange (yup, she did Solange's hair for "A Seat At the Table" visuals!!!), Serena Williams and more.
Susan Oludele Artist & Visionary
This Black woman is responsible for Beyonce's iconic Lemonade braids! Nigerian-American, Susan Oludele grew up with a mama who styled her natural hair with so much love, until her mama stopped. Too tired. Thus, began Susy's hair journey that eventually led her to launch Hair by Susy, a natural hair salon in Brooklyn, today.
