When India Arie dropped “I Am Not My Hair” black girls all around the world felt liberated.
I know I did! Our varied tresses meant little in the grand scheme of life. Fast forward a few years and now hair carries such a different meaning. According to Afropunk “Hair plays such a central role in the identity, self-concept, sense of beauty and political consciousness of Black people, that it is hard to overstate its importance.”
In pre-colonial Africa, it was a way to distinguish between tribes, status, maturity and even a bonding opportunity. These styles helped to protect our delicate strands too. Colonial influences led to the policing of African hair in an attempt to quash any avenue for individuals to have an identity but movements like Afropunk are reviving them.
Now you might be thinking to yourself
why’s it so important to champion the
right for black people to wear our hair
as we’d like?
Well for one, the colonizer wouldn’t have gone through all this effort if hair wasn’t inherently powerful and secondly because regressive attitudes about our hair directly impact our day to day lives. Lest we forget the gruesome murders of the ‘Kitengela Four’ last year.
It’s also imperative to understand that our hair is only an issue when it’s natural. So weaves, relaxers and wigs are good but the way our hair naturally grows out of the scalp? Sinful!
Alternative aesthetics like
the punk scene didn’t carve
a space out for Africans
and the diaspora so we did what we do best and carved that space out for ourselves. Recent years have seen the exponential growth of the natural hair movement and with it, the various styles black hair can express itself.
From Lupita Nyong’o to Beyonce, our traditional hairstyles have not only been popular in festivals and concerts but have graced some of the biggest events for fashion and music.
What’s particularly great
about this is that
these hairstyles are getting a modern-day upgrade. From funky colours, interesting accessories, untraceable lace fronts, a mean edge game and even the expansion of available products, there’s no better time to be black and challenge the status quo.
These modern touches have elevated these hairstyles from a simple protective style to full-blown couture hair art!
These trends have promoted
progressive attitudes around
black hair by empowering its wearers. For diasporic populations, it’s a way to still feel connected to your roots. For descendants in the West, it is a civil rights movement and
the ultimate show of defiance to a world with a history of anti-blackness. Nothing says punk like giving the middle finger to the man
Our hair isn’t nappy
it’s a crown.
It’s not difficult it just needs some TLC. No longer are we looking to be accepted by the very people who rejected us.
WE accept us and if the world knows what’s good for it… They’ll join in too. Plus, is there a more addictive scent than natural hair products?
