Afro - Latin Americans Hair Delemias ... We Are Not Alone In This Foolishness

http://www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/afrolatin/part2/index.html

African American Hair History

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2006
Combing The History of Black Hair
(Queens, a popular pictorial coffee table book)

1444: Europeans trade on the west coast of Africa with people wearing elaborate hairstyles including locks, plaits and twists.

1619: First slaves brought to Jamestown; African language, culture and grooming tradition begin to disappear.

1700s: Calling black hair "wool," many whites dehumanize slaves. The more elaborate African hairstyles cannot be retained.

1800s: Without the combs and herbal treatments used in Africa, slaves rely on bacon grease, butter and kerosene as hair conditioners and cleaners. Lighter-skinned, straight-haired slaves command higher prices at auction than darker, more kinky-haired ones. Internalizing color consciousness, blacks promote the idea that blacks with dark skin and kinky hair are less attractive and worth less.

1865: Slavery ends, but whites look upon black women who style their hair like white women as well-adjusted. "Good" hair becomes a prerequisite for entering certain schools, churches, social groups and business networks.

1880: Metal hot combs, invented in 1845 by the French, are readily available in the United States. The comb is heated and used to press and temporarily straighten kinky hair.

1900s: Madame C.J. Walker develops a range of hair care products for black hair. She popularizes the press and curl style. Some criticize her for encouraging black women to look white.

1910: Walker is featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the first American woman, self-made millionaire.

1920s: Marcus Garvey, a black nationalist, urges followers to embrace their natural hair and reclaim an African aesthetic.

1954: George E. Johnson launches the Johnson Products Empire with Ultra Wave Hair Culture, a "permanent" hair straightener for men that can be applied at home. A women's chemical straightener follows.

1962: Actress Cicely Tyson wears cornrows on the television drama "East Side/West Side."

1966: Model Pat Evans defies both black and white standards of beauty and shaves her head.

1968: Actress Diahann Carroll is the first black woman to star in a television network series, "Julia." She is a darker version of the all-American girl with straightened, curled hair.

1970: Angela Davis becomes an icon of Black Power with her large Afro.

1971: Melba Tolliver is fired from the ABC affiliate in New York for wearing an Afro while covering Tricia Nixon's wedding.

1977: The Jheri curl explodes on the black hair scene. Billed as a curly perm for blacks, the ultra moist hairstyle lasts through the 1980s.

1979: Braids and beads cross the color line when Bo Derek appears with cornrows in the movie "10."

1980: Model-actress Grace Jones sports her trademark flat top fade.

1988: Spike Lee exposes the good hair/bad hair light-skinned/dark-skinned schism in black America in his movie "School Daze."

1990: "Sisters love the weave," Essence magazine declares. A variety of natural styles and locks also become more accepted.

1997: Singer Erykah Badu poses on the cover of her debut album "Baduizm" with her head wrapped, ushering in an eclectic brand of Afrocentrism.

1998: Carson Inc., creator of Dark & Lovely and Magic Shave for black men, acquires black-owned beauty company Johnson Products of Chicago in 1998. L'Oreal purchases Carson two years later and merges it with Soft Sheen.

1999: People magazine names lock-topped Grammy award-winning artist Lauryn Hill one of its 50 Most Beautiful People.

2001: Rapper Lil' Kim wears a platinum blonde weave, while singer Macy Gray sports a new school Afro. Some black women perm, some press, others go with natural twists, braids and locks.

2006: Black hair care is a billion-dollar industry.

Source
posted by Terrence | 5:00 PM
1 Comments:
The Humanity Critic said...
I saw that book while sitting waiting to get my locs twisted. A very interesting read.
January 25, 2006 9:39 AM
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Twist Out!!!!

Twist Out

Out the door to run errands ... Enjoying my twist out that is now 2 days old or so... I wore my twist for 2 weeks, shampooed and then took them down after they dried (overnight)... I will wear this style for about a week.... See ya later
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Who I Am & Why I'm Here???

I have been natural now since January 27th 2007. It has not always been an easy ride but it has been a ride well worth the journey... and U ladies know I'm sure that it is truly a journey. It takes awhile before we truly come to love and appreciate our hair just the way God made it. I can say that I still have bouts of frustration but I have come way to far to turn back now.... I have had many days of feeling love for my hair and a few days of frustration... so there just ain't no way that I am going back now... So I am here to take you along for the ride. As I learn I will readily pass on any new found knowledge and tips that I happen to come upon. So here goes ...

The New www.THECOILREVIEW.COM

I just love this video!!!! It is however not about warring over hair for me. I really just want to make all of the many African American women out there who are pondering over the prison of our hair; those out there that believe that natural hair is not professional, not beautiful, something to be disdained, something to be thrown away ....... I say stop the madness and know that ones man's or woman's, for that matter, trash is another woman's treasure.... Soooo Many people of the world would love the versatility of our hair. It is my goal to bring to light, more so than it was before, that natural hair is an option and that it can be styled beautifully for any and all occasions....

Natural hair is BEAUTIFUL!!! =)

25 Things to Know Before Going Natrual from Nappturality.com

http://www.nappturality.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=197


I love this writing ... it is sooo sooo true...