NPR

What Black women's hair taught me about agency, reinvention and finding joy

Treye Green reflects on the lessons he's learned through the art and power of Black hair.
Along with my mom's hair story, I was captured by the hair stories of the pop culture sirens who inspired me through magazine covers, music videos and images in CD booklets. This included Janet Jackson's burgundy curls during <em>The Velvet Rope</em> era, Toni Braxton's chic pixie cut, Brandy's range of microbraid styles, and the styles of LeToya, LaTavia, Kelly and Beyoncé from Destiny's Child

The chorusing clack of curling irons and the deep hum of hooded hair dryers were familiar sounds throughout my childhood.

I'd regularly accompany my mother on her bi-weekly visit to the hair salon, each trip leaving me transfixed by the seemingly endless array of hairstyles that filled the salon posters on the walls and packed the issuesmagazine I flipped through while patiently sitting in the waiting area.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min readWorld
Hamas Releases Video Of A Second American Being Held Hostage In Gaza
Hamas has released a video showing two captives, one of them an American, as part of an effort to prove that the two men are still alive. It was the second video of a U.S. citizen released this week.
NPR4 min readAmerican Government
Gaza Protestors Picket White House Correspondents Dinner, As Biden Ribs Trump
The war in Gaza spurred large protests outside a glitzy roast with President Joe Biden, journalists, politicians and celebrities Saturday but went all but unmentioned by participants inside.
NPR2 min read
CDC Says 3 Women Diagnosed With HIV After Receiving 'Vampire Facial'
Although HIV transmission from contaminated blood through unsterile injection is a well-known risk, the CDC said this is the first documentation of probable infections involving cosmetic services.

Related Books & Audiobooks