by
Chinwe
Not too long ago, I found an old photograph of my parents wearing gigantic afros and wondered, “What happened to the natural hair movement of that time? Why did it die out?”
Many naturalistas are aware that the current natural hair “trend” is not a precedent and that an earlier movement existed back in the 60s and 70s. Nonetheless, the history of this “first” movement is often overlooked and even oversimplified. The “afro” of the 60s and 70s was not just a “style” of that period nor merely a political statement. Let’s go back in time for a moment …
The 60s: The natural hair movement begins
Between 1964 and 1966, the Civil Rights movement was morphing into the Black Power movement, according to Byrd and Tharp of “Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America.” “Negroes and colored folk were becoming black people,” and for many, that meant accepting “a new, Black-identified visual aesthetic, an aesthetic that not only incorporated an alternative to straight hair but actually celebrated it.” In a book titled “Hair Matters: Beauty, Power, and Black Women’s Consciousness,” Ingrid Banks, Associate Professor of Black Studies at University of California Santa Barbara states:
“the pressing comb and chemical relaxers became oppressive because they were tools that symbolized the shame associated with black hair in its natural state.”
The immigration of Africans to the United States, according to Byrd and Tharp, also fueled the natural hair movement of that time period. For some black people, wearing their hair in its natural state became a “way of showing their visible connection to their African ancestors and Blacks throughout the diaspora.” For many, returning to natural meant shedding one’s appearance and ideas (of beauty) accumulated through assimilation into White America. In 1968, Kathleen Cleaver of the Black Panther Party said this about the natural hair movement occurring in that time:
“The reason for it, you might say, is a new awareness among black people that their own natural appearance, their physical appearance, is beautiful. It is pleasing to them … For so many, many years we were told only white people were beautiful. Only straight hair, light eyes, light skin was beautiful, and so black women would try everything they could to straighten their hair and lighten their skin to look as much like white women … But this has changed because black people are aware, … and white people are aware of it too because [they] now want natural wigs … They want wigs like this [points to her natural hair].”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKdPUaBCTBA
The 70s: The movement reaches its height and the afro becomes a target of repression
By the late 1960s and 1970s, the natural hair movement was permeating the black population. The afro was not just seen on members of the Black Panther Party, but on college students, other activists, and in film. Blaxploitation films, like Cleopatra Jones and Foxy Brown, were also featuring female characters with their hair in its natural state.
During the 70s, prominent black members of activist groups were also forced “underground,” or into hiding from law enforcement. Disguises for some of these women included wigs to cover their natural hair. The afro was becoming a target for arrests and interrogation.
In “Afro Images: Politics, Fashion, and Nostalgia,” Angela Davis discusses how photographs of herself, including those on the FBI posters, affected the perceptions of others, and more importantly, the lives of other natural-haired black women:
“While the most obvious evidence of their power was the part they played in structuring people’s opinions about me as a “fugitive” and a political prisoner, their more subtle and wide-ranging effect was the way they served as generic images of black women who wore their hair “natural.” From the constant stream of stories I have heard over the last twenty-four years (and continue to hear), I infer that hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of Afro-wearing Black women were accosted, harassed, and arrested by police, FBI, and immigration agents during the two months I spent underground. One woman, who told me that she hoped she could serve as a “decoy” because of her light skin and big natural, was obviously conscious of the way the photographs constructed generic representations of young Black women. Consequently, the photographs identified vast numbers of my Black female contemporaries who wore naturals (whether light- or dark-skinned) as targets of repression. This is the hidden historical content that lurks behind the continued association of my name with the Afro.”
Early to Mid 80s: The natural hair movement dissipates
In the early to mid 80s, the natural hair movement was slowing down and ultimately came to an end. Why? While it is difficult to pinpoint one exact reason, here are some possible factors:
The afro became a target (as discussed above).
The Black Power movement decelerated in the early 80s. (The Black Panther Party ended in 1982.)
The invention of the Jheri Curl, Wave Nouveau, and other permed styles occurred in the mid to late 70s. These styles rose in popularity among blacks in the 80s and part of the 90s.
The “afro” look was becoming more mainstream — being worn by non-blacks — and losing much of its original meaning.
Braids and cornrows — the new “natural” styles — were not welcome in many workplaces. (In 1981, Renee Rogers lost her job at American Airlines for wearing cornrows. In 1987, Cheryl Tatum lost her job at the Hyatt hotel for wearing braids.)
SOURCES:
[1] Faraj, Gaidi. Ph.D. Dissertation, “Unearthing the underground: A study of radical activism in the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army.” University of California, Berkeley, 2007.
[2] Davis, Angela Y.. “Afro Images: Politics, Fashion, and Nostalgia.” Critical Inquiry. Vol. 21, No. 1 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 37-39, 41-43, 45.
[3] Byrd, Ayana and Tharps, Lori. “Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America.” St. Martin’s Griffin, January 12, 2002.
[4] Banks, Ingrid. “Hair Matters: Beauty, Power, and Black Women’s Consciousness.” NYU Press, Jan 1, 2000.
What other factors do you believe played a role in the decline of the “afro” and natural hair in general? What are some differences/similarities between the movement of the 70s and that of now? Do you think this movement is here to stay?
51 Responses
Idk
This natural hair is beautiful. Why put a whole lot of chemicals in your hair? Natural is best.
Psychological warfare to keep us from recognizing our self worth and to assimilate into the so called dominate culture. Attacking our natural hair styles is still warfare. Our hair is versital and anything can be done with it in its natural state.
1981 a woman is fired for wearing protective styles. 2016 a child is suspended from school for having locs. Not much changed…
Great article. Also, many people who formerly had Afros, started wearing locs in the 90s. That was the next natural hair explosion.
Wow! Awesome article! Yes, the braids and Jerri.curl took over. The beloved Afro faded in.the back ground–the true meaning. The natural hair moment is here is stay! It was birth with self-love…love your hair, skin, body, and soul.
Thanks for the history lesson. I plan to order the two books you mentioned. I’m hoping this wave will last simply because we are learning t accept each other’s reasons and motives for style choices AND we learning that there’s no one way to be “black enough”.
I think black women back in the day were a lot prettier when with their natural hair these women these days have wanted European hair put into their hair and it has become a mental thing where they cannot live without it and even to where it causes forehead cancer on that black model and it caused many other infections also on actresses that would be like a European woman putting on an afro why would somebody do that is just ridiculous a lot of black American women have damage their hair to the point where they will never be able to grow it again because they have had it tugged on glued on sold in whatever for many many years in the damage is done and they are actually bald so I say be proud of what you have let it be healthy quit trying to be European because you’re notproud to be black American and then turn around and put different ethnic hair on your scalp keep it real nowgood luck to all that trying to grow their natural hair
Excellent post to a great article. We still face discrimination because of our hair but we are strong and will endure. I too am along for the ride! And totally agree with the poster who mentioned integration emulation.
Thanks for educating! Keep up the great work!
Great post!
Yes I remember in the 70s wearing my big fro mentally associating myself with the black power movement. The Black Panthers wore fros and they were totally my hero’s, I planned to join them when when I turned 18. But before I reached that age many Black Panthers were killed or jailed and the black power movement wasn’t in our faces as much. My rebellious feelings turned towards a more spiritual seeking. The black movement got replaced with the inner peace spiritualism afforded me. The only other option for doing my hair natural at that time for me was dread locks and I didn’t like the idea of not combing my hair so I went back to pressing my hair and then eventually got relaxers. Finally in my early 50’s I got tired of having to touch up my relaxed hair and I got tired of looking at the thinning limp hair I got tired of my hair. I just wanted to be able to touch my hair and feel good I just didn’t know how to go natural so when I went to YouTube and saw all these beautiful young sistas teaching about natural hair care I was overjoyed. I’ve been natural since 2007 and have done the big chop twice! I love my hair! No I don’t think this is a fad I think natural hair is now become a part of our black culture, because we are seeing and experiencing our hair texture as healthy, soft, shiny and beautiful.
I love this glimpse into the more complex story of natural hair movements in black American history. I sometimes wonder whether or not this natural hair movement will fade out eventually. I’ve seen a few YouTubers returning to relaxed hair or texturizing their hair. (Not that Youtube is necessarily indicative of most black naturals)
The natural hair movement is certainly less militant and more beauty-focused these days, for a lot of women. It’s inherently about beauty either way, but I think the image most women are trying to aim for daily is very different. We aren’t usually picking out the hair to a fro. We’re aiming to define our curl pattern, for a look that seems more natural, stretch, style, etc. (not all, many) While self-acceptance is definitely a key component here, it’s not usually part of a political statement and not usually a militant type of “black power” expression, from my observations. I think that has pros and cons. The biggest pros are that it is much more easily accepted by the mainstream. “This is who I am, and I accept myself and think I’m beautiful, there are different types of beauty” is sentiment expressed in many ways today in media, and natural hair is one. And it’s much more palatable and gradually receives more support than an aggressive “Black power – this is what my hair means.” For better or worse, people are human and respond to different messages differently. It’s becoming chic, beautiful, and more represented outside of an exploitative manner that seems to have been more likely back in the first wave. As much as we don’t like to admit this, and as much as we shouldn’t care, mainstream acceptance of something gives that image a certain kind of power and helps ease more women into natural hair. But I think we do get that. Thats why we like and urge the depiction of natural hair in mainstream media alongside popular figures, in popular movies and music videos, etc. You’re less the marginalized outsider standing up for rights (a burden for which today’s black women – or people in general – seem to have less an appetite) and more the person reclaiming beauty and seeing herself in a different light.
The psychology and politics behind beauty and natural hair are very interesting. I’m not a black militant in this respect, but when I stopped straightening my hair in high school, political motivation was part of it, or I should say, making a statement. I had already stopped relaxing my hair and grown my relaxer out, but I heat styled weekly and kept my hair straightened. I just remember thinking, why is this necessary? Why do I have to do this thing to look beautiful? That, and I always loved to make people uncomfortable. I liked to be different and make people think and wonder, “just what the actual fuck is she doing?” Felt good.
I can’t really take the “anti-assimilation” or “integration” claims seriously though. The arguments behind them seem intellectually dishonest, if not simply ignorant, a lot of the time. This has nothing to do with “assimilation” for me. It’s simply about developing a more complex vision of beauty, seeing as we Americans are all a part of American life and identity. And that goes beyond blackness really, for me. It ties into a lot of different identities and expressions of self, but I know this topic is focused on one experience specifically – the black woman.
Came back to read this again and say well done. 🙂
I NEVER did that. I was a teacher & wore my afro on the job as did many others. I taught in inner city schools with mostly black kids. I did have straight haired wigs & only wire them to give my hair a break or to wear a different look without having to deal with salons & hot combs.
Great article! I’ve always thought about the very short time ago when Natural Hair wasn’t just about fashion. You were opening yourself to persecution, abuse and all kinds of negatives especially with locs. Respect to our amazing pioneers!
BeUtifullyHuman you took the words right out of my mouth. I love this article. We have really lost focus of what going natural really means and this article definitely puts things into perspective. Great read!
In order to know where we are going, we must first know where we come from. Great read! Please keep this kind of empowerment/enlightenment coming.
I’m clapping from my seat!!!! Excellent job and magnificent post Chinwe! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article because it provided a historical perspective and delved deeper behind a seemingly powerful movement. It showed the celebration of the Afro and natural hair but for a multitude of factors dissipated when it was most celebrated; within the black community. I’ve also quietly wondered to myself about this and even questioned my own aunts about their choice to return to perms after rocking natural hair and “Afros” during this era (60’s & 70’s).
I feel that this post had great grit, teeth, and was excellent on all fronts! Keep up the the great work!
The natural hair movement this time around can not be a fad; black consciouness demands this. As a people, the profound impact and significance that finally embracing, wearing and loving our natural hair after centuries of oppression (physically and mentally), can not be denied–no matter how many times one says “it’s just hair”. No it is not just hair, it’s an awakening to the conditioning that we have been under for the past 400 years. A conditioning that has been past down (conciously and sub-conciously) in our households from generation to generation.
I hope to God that we have realized this this time around. Yes, the natural hair movement of the 60’s and 70’s was inevitably attached to the black liberation movement–hence why it was successly crushed by the US government. But today I believe, black people are just finally waking up into the light.
President Obama’s election has been a catalyst for many things. His election has exposed poingnantly America’s racist and still pervasive underbelly, as well as highlight the abysmal failure and false hope of racial intergration. America will never be the same after BO presidency, one of those things I hope to come from it, our final acceptance of our black selves in all its glory.
The 1960s rise of minority, women, youth, gay, anti-war and workers movements AROUND THE WORLD were a sociopolitical-financial tsunami against ‘omnipotent’ White patriarchal institutions that were DICTATING global financial markets as well as household spending, controlled media-messaging, waged wars over drugs/weapons/minerals/agricultural territories and single-handedly created and deposed leaders. They were not going down PERIOD!
Defiance to war, racialization, religiosity, homophobia, misogyny, poverty, corporate/academic/political elitism was powerful and effective. The change, autonomy and advances of the 1960s threatened THE monopolistic stranglehold on where and how racial-ethnic and social
minorities spent their money, the media and psychological methods used to suppress them and their bids for more access to power. So, they mounted a HUGE, ferocious neo-conservative backlash in the 1970s with a
pearly-white Anita Bryant face on it. And it worked. And eventually gave way to the oil and Nicaraguan-funded excess, exploitation and devolution of the 1980s. It was a larger Black AUTONOMY and VISIBILITY that was suppressed, and that also meant regaining control of the Black image to reinforce us as international permanent underclass and gain control over what would become a billion dollar global beauty/hair market.
The afro during this time period is really an interesting topic for me. Especially the fact that the afro was viewed as a political statement & people could have lost their jobs because of the fear of radicalism.
My grandmother is from Louisiana and she told me that many women (herself included) used to wear afro wigs when they were out with their friends or going to night clubs but otherwise it was common for women to keep their hair relaxed beneath the wigs.
So I am curious as to whether other women in other parts of the country did the same.
afros are beautiful…I have sisterlocks and these pics are making me miss the fro. it just looks powerful, it demands attention!
In the UK if you ask most people who had their hair in an afro at the time they will admit it was due to fashion. Most would admit it wasn’t a political statement. Even more so because anyone with dense curly hair regardless of ethnic group copied it.
agree, integration was…is the decline of the black businesses and the community…a lot of yes believe ‘white is right’ smh…
I never thought of from that prospective; eye opening.
It’s funny that people say all day, “it’s just hair”, but hair itself is a big cultural focus around the world. Braids, shaving patterns or just length can be indicators of social status or beauty. There is great value in hair and we pretend like it ain’t no thang. BOLOGNA. I remember girls coming to elementary school in depressive states after being forced to cut their hair. It’s an important facet of our personalities and acting like we have the privilege of not worrying about how society perceives it is a disservice.
Sis I love reading your perspective on Black issues. Please keep commenting and bringing your light to this forum.
I’d love for you all to do more post like this.
I don’t know how much this has to do with anything in terms of this history, but I never really liked the term creamy crack when I first started coming on natural hair boards. However, when it occurred to me that the use of “creamy crack” came on the scene around the same time as actual crack-cocaine, it really set off a light-buld in my mind. When you think about the way that crack desolated the urban communities and the black community particularly, and then think about what the use of relaxers did to the mentality of the black image you really start to see the correlations and to think deeper.
Powerful epiphany!
the article is on point. No one reason for the depopularity of the natural hair movement. What i know now is that i am grateful that the trend is back –that the trend is on and poppin now! I am grateful that after 35 years of relaxing that my curls and kinks are still in tact. Thank you Jesus!
Integration, integration, integration! With integration came the decline of Black businesses and the A okay for us to spend our dollars with Massa. Quite naturally we purchased anything and everything that would ensure our acceptance to the dominant society. Sistahs were conscious then and I see it happening again. It’s ironic because I live in Paris and the consciousness is making it’s way here as well. Although weave is still king, sistahs in Paris are embracing their natural hair. They’re Black and they’re proud! Is the movement here to stay? Who knows? I’m just happy I’m here for the ride. It’s an exciting time to be Black, beautiful and natural 🙂
Taking this slightly a la gauche 😉 :
I was a kid in the 70s growing up “in integration” and the only women I saw who wore BAAs were teenagers or slightly older. Women of my mom’s generation, if they wore a natural, kept it shorter. My mom had a curly ‘fro wig that she would wear for special occasions. That was pretty much it in my corner of American suburbia and for my mom’s generation I think it had a lot to do with how you presented yourself in environments that until then you were banned from. Tied to that: When I entered a private school in 7th grade, that was when I officially climbed onto the relaxer train.
Sometimes it seems folks who weren’t around back then have this romantic ideal of the 60s and 70s being all about black love and consciousness. In truth all the same colorist “hair-ist” BS was still there, and when the Afro fad faded away the status quo came right back to the fore, with even more products (kiddie perms, Jheri Curls) to help it along.
I think the big difference between then and now is that I and a lot of women I know quit relaxing not because we wanted to make some kind of political statement, but because we were fed the f*** up. 🙂 I personally realized just how much the black hair industry takes advantage of black women’s ignorance and I decided I was going “off the grid” to become the sole expert on my hair.
I still smile a little knowing that all these women who followed in our footsteps in the years since have helped shake the industry to its core. I also smile knowing that this time around, natural hair isn’t a statement; it is the new status quo. Put another way, it’s us finally learning to be comfortable with ourselves as we are, and in the larger scheme of things, that — comfort with self — is the REAL statement.
I was excited to read this as I have wondered this myself. Thanks for
doing the research! I’m loving the reason you gave that It basically
became too commercial, which is funny when you think of it: Black people
had to leave their own natural hair because white people were trying to
take it over.
Great article! I have so many thoughts on this but I do think that the afro of the 60’s and 70’s saw its demise because many only saw It as a trend or fashion statement. Just as we see now in the comment sections in hair blogs from naturals today. Many don’t think their hair choices are that DEEP.If its cute and in style and worn by black celebs they jump on it. Hence all the wigging and weaving going on now that will look much dated in a few years now as well lol. No matter if we want to believe it or not the fact that the majority of us do not wear our hair as is in its natural state speaks VOLUMES about us as a people. The movement recognized that and used the afro to speak for itself.
Its hard to say what will become of the natural hair movement at present. Every time someone tries to make it deep it gets smacked down. We are told “its just hair” or we are too sensitive or there is nothing wrong with long blonde hair weave on some of our popular female artist to whom young black children look up to.
Very informative. really loved this Chinwe!
Thank you for sharing!
cool article! I’ve wondered about this before as well.
Difference between the movement of the 70s and now is that we have natural hair products that are more healthy for hair.
Also, there are natural hair product lines created by us (Black people, especially Black women).
Great article and love the videos attached to article. My mother is a retired nurse. Before she started working, she had a big, beautiful afro. We live in the South & when she started her career at the largest hospital in our city in the early 70s, there were very few Black nurses. She started using the hot comb because it wasn’t acceptable for her to wear an afro to work. I’m sure many other Blacks experienced & felt the same as she did.
which is why I ultimately find it in poor taste for nonPOC (really non black ppl) to use the term natural and attempt locs, afros, ect.
Wow I disagree completely. I never understood why people got offended by people of other cultures/ethnicities wearing locs and afros if it is not done to ridicule. I would like to hear your reasons why you find it in poor taste for people to do so.
Hi, ashlee. I can’t speak for Jas Devi, but as for me, I agree. You see, if you see the world as “post-racial,” then maybe it makes no difference what people wear or do–people should be free to do whatever, right? However, if you see anything positive about race, e.g., if you think pan-Africanist, then you see people wearing “black” or “African” hairstyles as cultural appropriation. Why, you ask? Because when non-black peoples “borrow” black culture, they claim it as their own, never giving homage to the black people who create it. In comparison, when white people create culture, you usually have to pay for it due to copyright and patent laws. Ashlee, no one can dictate how you view the world; that’s your personal journey, I imagine. However, some of us see the product of black people as having some level of “sacredness” or even just group cultural expression that should nurtured by the black community for the next generation, similar to how many whites pass down generational wealth. Music is another great example of this. For instance, if jazz was truly preserved and revered by black people, we would have many young men learning to play instruments because they would want to participate and further their “legacy.” However, since jazz has been appropriated by the dominant culture, blacks seem to have just let it go, so now, young black boys don’t even associate jazz with black culture. The same is currently happening with reggae music, although there is some resistance. Sorry for the long comment. I was really struck by your comment and felt that you made genuine observations.
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!!! I could not have expressed your sentiments better myself! Speak the truth, sista!
I find it of poor taste because locs and afros have a symbolic meaning as stated in the article above. That would be like me putting on a hijab cause its “cute”. Other races wearing our hairstyles are not flattering at all as many do it only as a way of looking “different” or alternative. I don’t think its done out of ridicule but it ignores what something stands for and waters it down. Bet you no white girl will get fired or side eyed if she came to work in trendy braid extensions, but a sister will fret over weither or not her look is professional dispite being authentic to culture.
And you know it my sista!
I tend to flip flop on this issue. Black hair has so much history attached to it, it’s more than just “hairstyles”. It’s like if non muslims started wearing hijabs or burkhas saying it’s just fashion. There’s more to it than that.
There’s the white person who’s a culture vulture who will not only wear the hair but also want to act like he belongs with the black community and has struggled like them but someohw magically maintians his white privilege.
Then there’s the white person who may wear locs but doesn’t try to claim black culture or “overidentify” with it.
But I do feel that if white people were aware of the full history of black people’s hair, they would not wear black hairstyles.
A very extreme example is how people get tatoos that are related to the holocaust. It’s not just a number, it’s not just a shape there is history there. And one should think twice before diving in.
One can’t help but feel that people are making light of something that should have more significance.
Some people who aren’t Black have dense curly hair which naturally grows upwards. They can’t help having an Afro if they grow their hair more than a few inches because that’s how their hair grows. A couple of them I personally known have got insulted by other White people for the fact their hair doesn’t grow down. There as other Black people leave them alone or give good humoured comments.
In regards to locs on -non-Black people they actually offend me. The White people I’ve met with them are rich kids who have their parents to bail them out for any trouble they get themselves in. The Black guys I know with locs have been additionally abused by authorities due to their choice of hair style.
Locs are “our hairstyle , a Black hairstyle. “.. ..interesting ….because before it was popularized by Rastafarians to Blacks there were others around the world who wore locs…such as Indian holy men… I wonder if whites and other non blacks with straight hair were offended when most Black women and their mothers had relaxers and now weaves….weren’t you all copying /culturally appropriating? their aesthetics? …and not giving credit to them. I wonder if those Indian holy men were bothered by Blacks copying/appropriating..or does it only apply to whites? Put down your arms Black women….and leave people alone because this self defensive posture against whites(most times) will only hurt Black women and blinds you all to other things going on around you….and notice it is only Black women who show this towards whites…”others”(you know who they are) are just living their lives not burdened by this constant self defense.
Yeah@Jas Devi what do you mean by that….In all seriousness. Anyway, Thank You bglh for the photos….I really love all the ladies pictured….Damn ms.Pam!!!…and for the history lesson…I didn’t k now a lot of the history.