The History of Black Hair from Chime (HairCrush)

https://www.facebook.com/190822330968156/videos/935985956451786/?pnref=story

This is not what I intended to write about today, but once again, this is one of those videos I couldn’t help but share. I love history and I love hair, so when the two collide it gets shared!

Hey…I made a rhyme thing.

This video by Chime absolutely struck a chord in me. It was not a week ago that I was reminiscing online about hairstyling techniques and monikers with a few friends. My children (and yours) will never know what it’s like to go to a hair braider and request a cornrowed, threaded or plaited style by name. I vividly remember asking my trusted coiffeuse for intricate styles such as  “basket”, “bridge” or “starfish”. I was fortunate because I had a mother who was very Afrocentric and went to a school where I had the “privilege” of keeping my own hair. Almost every girl in the Ghanaian school system is required to shave off all her hair, a throwback to slavery and the propagation of neo-colonial mindsets and Black self-hatred.

Black hair has always been a source of pride and fascination. It is capable of defying gravity or submitting to it. It has its own story and serves as a herald for the wearer before he/she utters a word. Its versatility and beauty make it a heavy crown for the wearer. And of course, our hair is what has served as a binding agent for all Africans the world over. Any sister or brother from the Virgin Island can commiserate with the native North Carolinian about hair struggles and/or triumphs – about being forced to sit (nervously) still while Momma pressed the back of your head or the uncomfotable drip of a Jehri Curl.  Our hair connects us as family.

Anyway, enjoy the video and PLEASE leave a comment either here or on the HairCrush website. I hope you find it as educative as I did – or at least served as a reminder for those of us who are more ‘conscious’.

I think this is where I am supposed to say Hotep…