![]() She became the first black millionaire and donated thousands of dollars to the NAACP and similar groups. Walker invented a system for straightening hair without the damage caused by other methods. Other styles Blacks wore proved to be an amalgam of traditional African styles, European trends, and even Native American practices (Byrd and Tharps 2001 pp.13-14).”Īfter the civil war, many African Americans began to straighten their hair. The braid patterns were commonly based on African tradition and styles. ![]() “The slaves that worked inside the plantation houses were required to present a neat and tidy appearance… so men and women often wore tight braids, plaits, and cornrows (made by sectioning the hair and braiding it flat to the scalp). Re-establishing traditional hair styles in the new world was thus an act of resistance one that could be carried out covertly. Heads were often shaved upon capture, ostensibly for sanitary reasons, but with the psychological impact of being stripped of one’s culture. Like many other “Africanisms” in the new world, knowledge of African hairstyles survived the Middle Passage. The date of this photo, 1939, helps remind us that cornrows were invented long before the civil rights era in the United States. ![]() Rebecca Busselle, who took the above photo of a Mende style in the 1970s, notes: “As westerners, it is difficult for us to appreciate the communicative power that Mende attribute to women’s hair.” Just as important is the act of braiding, which transmits cultural values between generations, expresses bonds between friends, and establishes the role of professional practitioner. I think the history is weaved into their blood past down from generation to generation and the skill is something they are born with.Ĭornrow hairstyles in Africa also cover a wide social terrain: religion, kinship, status, age, ethnicity and other attributes of identity can all be expressed in hairstyle. I often look at little African girls and boys braiding hair and wonder how do they have such a skill? Their little fingers move so fast and some of our own stylists will tell you they just felt as if they were born to braid. I was reading a short article on the History of Cornrows and I thought it would be interesting to quote some of it here so that the next time you sit between your mother’s legs to get a braid up you understand just what she is doing. Maybe sometimes when you are just getting a style you aren’t thinking about ancient history but I do believe at some point it is important to understand it and to learn about it. In the hair space the same holds true, do you know what cornrows mean? Do you understand what your “Summer 16” trendy braid style meant back in the day and the type of history the style holds? Historical mistakes, hardships, and developments all shape who we are now and gives us the blueprint on how to be better humans, I am not going to rob him of that. Historical mistakes, hardships, and developments all shape who we are now and gives us the blueprint on how to be better humans. Sadly in most cases the answer is ‘yes’ and with that said I think as a parent it is my duty to teach my child everything about his history even the hard parts. History lessons in the Caribbean were told without inhibition, there was nothing left out because that is how history was meant to be told.įast forward to these days, I am raising a son who will have to learn the same history as I did growing up but I often wonder will he hear it all? Will the parts of history that captivated my mind as a child be removed from the shool curriculum to serve some sort of subservient political agenda? My class was pretty diverse we had all races but the guilt you hear about when learning about slave history was never a thing for anyone of us regardless of race. ![]() I remember sitting in history class being captivated by the stories of the Middle Passage, learning about slave ships and trade route between Africa and the Americas.
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