AFROS AND LOCS AND BRAIDS, OH MY!!!!

hair matters to Black people, a lot. it is more than simple maintenance. it is a statement. expression. some people cut their hair or do whatever to their hair JUST for convenience. or JUST because it got longer. the average Black person (specifically a Black woman or Black man with longer hair) has 2 3 4 5 reasons as to why their hair is the way it is. freedom. religion. connection to our roots and heritage. style. protective.

doing hair in the Black community is a thing. it brings you closer to whomever is doing it. it builds relationships with those in the room. it starts a journey with hair and self. hair salons and barber shops are sacred places in the Black community. it is where you get your gossip, news, music updates, sports and hip hop conversations, advice on the opposite sex. so let’s talk about hair.

in 1786, in Louisiana, a law was enacted to regulate the dress and style and overall expression of Black people. this law was focused on Black women. the law was called the Tignon Laws. a tignon is simply put a scarf. Long story short: Black women are and have always been the sh*t and the features they possess attracted everyone. white women were threatened because their husbands kept staring at the queens. thus, a law to try to conceal the beauty of Black women. Black women said you know what… we gon play this little game and still stunt. and they did. see this is culture. we pay homage to our ancestors when we do things.

“a professional look” whatever that precisely means is not concrete. but what is concrete is that term alienates Black people. it puts Black men against the wall but mainly Black women due to the numerous amount of times and styles the average woman changes or styles her hair. men might change their style once or twice per year. women, twice per week. a “professional” or polished look when it comes to HAIR is rooted in power and racism. it is a power move that stems from racism. point blank. subconscious or not. it is anti Black. that is a fact.

so many people (and i mean A LOT) of people tell me it’s gonna be hard for you with your hair like that. gotta get in the door first and then grow out your hair. please. i wish i would consider it an L if i applied to a place that didn’t hire me due to my hair. that is a blessing i didn’t get that job. i am ready for whatever comes my way due to my hair. if i can make it easier for Jaden, i will do it. he’s 9. he had locs 2 3 years ago. i will go thru hardships now and years from now in hope what i do will make it better for him.

in fact, earlier this week, New York passed a law that made illegal to discriminate against natural hair… a law. yall think i be making this up or just speaking out of emotion.

this anti Blackness can be demonstrated by Black people. it is foolish when it is done by anyone but simply sad and depressing and when it is done by other Black people. however, it is self hate. there are holds and chains on us that has yet to be removed from slavery.

the effects of slavery are still relevant and have lived longer than the physical captivity that Afrikan folks have withstood. 1865, yeah, but do not tell me slavery doesn’t exist today and the mentality in certain aspects of life are still carried on. Black people were literally seen as less than animals. forget humans. my ancestors were not seen as humans. so their characteristics were seen as animalistic and beastly and their natural qualities and attributes were seen as dirty and ugly and less desirable. it is no surprise that so many Black people today and the outlook on our hair is so preciously viewed. it is also no surprise that some Black people despise the freedom Black people display with their hair.

ooooohhh. if i made all of those pictures Black and white, like it was the 1960s and 70s, it woulda been cool and revolutionary. okay.

is that better? i’m talking to Black folks. is that better… does that work for you? because you respect certain people’s work in the community and you resonate more with some people from 4 decades ago, they are accepted. or before you might think they themselves are physically attractive and however their hair is is a go for you but you’re gonna say “no. their hair is actually cute” but in reality you’re referring to their looks being cute or handsome.

now i’m talking to Black and non Black folks. this woman is attractive. she’s cute, right? her hair is just banging but cute people get a pass for their hair. if this woman had a low fade or braids or locs, people will still bypass whatever her hair looked like because of her face. but if her face wasn’t so feminine and her jawline was more structured and she wasn’t smiling, your whole perception of her hair changes.

but this just ain’t it… the way this man’s hair grows naturally doesn’t satisfy you. we’re not gonna talk about how most mentioned in the Bible had locs and afros and braids. i know we looooooove the Bible.

Marcus Garvey aka one of the realist people ever said “remove the kinks from your mind. not your hair.”

okay lemme talk to you non Black people now.

it gets real when we’re talking about jobs and social groups and churches and social media.

a Black woman doesn’t get the same love for posting a picture of her with NO makeup on, hair natural in sweatpants in front of a mirror. now if she was light skin and gorgeous, maybe. but just the natural state she is in is not enough to get love while other people get praised for not wearing makeup and having a “messy bun.”

having the thought that the hair style i have might keep me from getting a certain job or a promotion or a love is so damaging. it restricts your creativity. it automatically strips you from your innovative mentality and originality. the pressure is alleviated if you see more people that look like you. if you know 90% of the people at a particular workforce looks like you, the mentality walking into that place before is totally different. knowing the district manager and manager and coworkers all have a fro or a bun or braids, you will have more confidence and freedom. however, going into an interview and you know the majority of people are not your race and don’t have the same background and experiences and hair… you think “ahhh before this interview, should i go pay a certain amount of money in order to heighten my chances of getting this job?” or “should i take these braids out and straighten my hair for this interview?”

do you… no you don’t. you don’t know how many Black women have thoughts about their natural hair before a damn job interview. (i’ll talk about Black men later in interviews)

their hair is literally existing. it is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

normalize Black people’s hair. normalize Black lives.

the world is discriminating against the texture of my hair. the way my hair grows. literally the texture.

representation matters. seeing Black people in positions of power with hair like yours builds confidence and courage. don’t think so?

this little kid, Jacob Philadelphia, wanted to know if the most important, powerful and *ADMIRED person in amerikkka has hair like him. Barack said “why don’t you touch it and see for yourself?”

Barack might have had the power to start a war… but he was admired by almost every one. this kid having the same hair pattern and texture as the most liked person in the country does good things for his confidence.

representation matters.

Black women being comfortable with their hair doesn’t stop with there. they often think does this make me a desirable lover. or will Black men like this. or will a potential manager approve. or is my mother in law going to start a ruckus.

lemme pause real quick.

PSA. BLACK WOMEN. YOU ARE ENOUGH. YOUR HAIR AND YOUR STYLES AND YOUR KITCHEN AND YOUR NAPS ARE LOVELY. THEY ARE. YOUR FINGER WAVES AND FROS AND GODDESS LOCS AND BRAIDS ARE GODLY. IMA SUCKER FOR CORNROWS. I MELT FOR YOUR SINGLES. YOU ARE THE STANDARD. YOU are a Queen.

okay. back to the program.

Walk into a school and every woman has straight hair and every dude is cuffed up with women with straight hair, it does something to your psyche and belief of beauty. going to a school where you walk down the street and you see women with locs and cornrows and buns and dudes hyping you up saying “OKAY SISTA ROCK THAT NATURAL” and see him carrying books for his woman who has a fro does something to your mind. it does. i make it a point that every time i see my little sister Dailee to tell her how much i love her hair. every time. it is my duty. her hair can just be braided, fresh, scalp probably tender from Sabrina doing it. or it can just be washed, in 2 puff balls looking like she just woke up from a hibernation. she still gon get hyped up by me. 1) she needs it. 2) i ain’t lying to her. her hair is poppin. her hair is amazing. her hair is enough. her hair grows the way it grows. her momma hair grows just like hers. might have a different texture, yes. but her momma hair is the same. her sisters’ hair is the same. her aunts’ hair is the same. Nefertiti and Sheba and Angela Davis and Jesus’s momma’s hair is the same.

it is unfortunate that these ideas exist. and that’s the point. so many of yall non Black women dont even have to think about this.

people describe our hair as untamed. wild. dirty.

people use adjectives that are reserved for lions and tigers and bears… oh my. do you understand the title of this post now?

see. this is often taught, ladies and gentlemen. the hatred for natural hair is taught at a young age. and once you break free from those chains in your personal life, it is quickly reinforced in the outside world. and what a lot of fathers and mothers and aunts do is enforce rules on hair. people might not do it verbally but by actions. there are a lot of people (most of the times non Black people) who likes rules. rules make them comfortable. makes them feel better. and people are different. so when Black people exist, we are seen as breaking the rules. our hair is unlawful. there’s lines to color in and an afro or locs are drawing outside of their lines. not ours. we don’t like restrictions. we don’t appreciate boxes. when we “draw outside the lines” we get judged. we are seen and labeled as defiant. then people make up images and perceptions of us.

hair shapes the way other people look at you. it just does. you see a picture of a dark skin man with locs and you in 2 seconds form an idea of what he is about, the profession he is in or if he has a job at all, what he might value. you see a light skin man with short hair and waves and a beard… without showing you 2 pictures of men who fit this description, you, in your head, already pictured these 2 men. you already made up your mind. you see a man with locs down his back on ch.2 news on mute and you already form an opinion. you see a man with a fade on the news tv also muted and it’s totally different. hair makes you form an opinion on people. and people know that. people change their hair because they are aware of that.

you know how many times i have been told by a brother that he cut his locs because he needed a job? you see a Black man with locs down his back with a suit in a courtroom, you think he’s the defendant. you see a Black man with a low fade with a suit, you think he’s the lawyer.

there are Black women who will have natural hair for months but picture day? straighten it. wedding day? weave but have the braids underneath. graduation? relaxer. birthday? add them chemicals and processors. personally, i support whatever hair decisions a Black woman does AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT STEM OR REFLECT anti Blackness. there are women who are good with theirs and love and put on for their city and community and culture and doesn’t rock a fro. doesn’t braid her hair. i am not mad at that. cmon now.

some people identify hair with certain people and then it sticks. the origination of the fro for Black women can easily become synonymous with Angela Davis and the Civil Rights Movement. Bob Marley and locs are connected for Black men. but not every Black woman with a fro is an activist or trying to set it off. not every Black man with locs smokes weed or is Rastafarian. not every Black woman with a relaxer hates herself. not every bald man in the 90s wanted to be Michael Jordan.

and often times, ones “Blackness” or authenticity is judged by the texture or style of their hair. their whole life and stance is frequently defined by the naturalness of the hair. i am more concerned and interested about the emotional well being of a Black man or Black woman. the intentions. perming your hair does not always mean you hate your roots, no pun intended. and having a fro does not mean you are a rebel.

you see a man with naps and “boy you better tame your hair” yet you see a man who look like he just brushed his hair for 4 hours straight, waves were baking and you think he’s cleaner. more reserved, more professional, classier.

we don’t think what’s in his head but what’s on it.

Black women are constantly looked at. they have been blessed with having the ideal most sought out body and aesthetic so it is important to note they are not on display for you. they are at work. they are buying groceries. they are bowling and drinking mimosas with their friends. they are not monuments for you to touch. this includes their hair. do not touch their hair. do not touch a Black person’s hair. now you might not have seen something so luxurious. understood. you might not have seen hair like this in person. gotcha. that curiosity and flat out amazement does not give you the right nor leeway to touch our hair.

a lot of Black people think, because our hair grows UP and out, that it is abrasive simply walking in places. we try to simmer down or hair. we think our hair is too big or too much and try to fit in.

Black women represent about 13% of the woman population in amerikkka. Black women are the minority. Black women still lead. however, imagine if you may the anxiety and pressure and stress and images and self doubt that the average Black woman MIGHT experience in every day life. at work with her peers looking nothing like her. or her boyfriend who sees nothing but straight hair Black women on TV and movies. or her parents who come from a time when they thought “good hair” is not nappy kinky curly hair. think about that. the average Black woman on TV, in movies, getting 85278788 likes on instagram does not look like the average Black woman. it is still amazing that the average Black woman is still fine as hell but still. think about what that Black woman goes thru.

lemme ask you something: how often does a Black person ask YOU about your hair? how often does a Black person ask “is that your hair?” how often does a Black person bring up how many times you’ve changed your style? not many huh? this is our body. it grows naturally. if you notice a woman with big breasts and they might be nice. but you are not going to go up to her and politely or curiously ask are those real? can i touch them? you just aren’t. treat our hair the same. it is objectifying. it is our hair.

Black women with a bun and her kitchen is out are automatically seen as ratchet or ghetto. other races of people and its dubbed a “messy bun.” a Black woman will get tossed by other Black women if she put her hair in a bun but it’s not as long as YOU think it should be for someone to put it in a bun. the same women have insecurities about their own hair. what we NOT GON DO anymore is talk down or even think negative thoughts about another Black woman’s hair. period.

3a or 4c. your hair is your hair. your hair is natural. we gon accept it.

what we NOT GON DO is see a Black man with naps or starting stages of locs and call him dirty or untamed. we NOT GON speak poorly about young Black men who are brave enough to rock their hair the way they want to rock their hair. we NOT GON dog Black women who ain’t got the length you got. that’s what we not gon do.

we gonna have an undying love for our brothas and sisters. read my other posts about Pan Afrikanism and Black love https://definejulius.com/2019/01/07/black-love-is-revolutionary/. https://definejulius.com/2018/06/04/dear-black-people/.

what we are gonna do is lift every single Black person up. what we are gonna do is hype and juice Black women at work or walking down the street or at school. that’s what we gon do. we gonna let that Black boy go to school with that fro. we gonna let that Black man wear that suit and tie with those locs. we gonna let that man do what he wanna do with his hair. we not gonna police Black women’s hair.

we must want to and then seek out our history and culture. we will quickly find that these naturally grown hairstyles and lack of processors and chemicals are healthy. they are “good hair.” your Black is beautiful. it is lovely. it is yours. it is mine. it is accepted. it is normal. it is perfect. it is you.

you clearly see with me (last 5 pictures) i have and will continue to embrace my hair. i am not consumed by media or anti Blackness. my biggest influencer is my father. he didn’t care at all how my hair looked. he knew hair was an expression. he was not gonna dictate how i wanted to express myself while it did no harm to anyone else. he would tell me HE didn’t like it certain ways i did it, but that doesn’t mean its ugly or not acceptable. he let a human be a human and didn’t flinch when i would walk in with designs or naps or locs swingin. he lived in Berkeley for a while. he witnessed women with red and yellow braids. he lived in South Central for a while. he witnessed men with afros and jerry curls. i was given love. so it doesn’t matter the setting, job, shirt, tie, restaurant. the world is gonna get these naps and locs. this 4c is healthy and bangin. i plan on having a long term relationship with these locs of mine. things change, jobs and people come and go, my locs are staying. embrace your crown.

but we can talk about Jamie Foxx hair line tho. idk what was going on.

one Love.

listen to I Am Not My Hair by India.Aire and Akon. and Black Effect by The Carters.