Hello, hello!
AFROFUTURISM
Whatever it is, the From the Tignon Laws to our current- the Crown Act - there’s a lot of confusion on black hair care, policing on black hair and the confusion on the terminology, for example, protective styling, I recently spoke with a lovely educator in West Virginia who informed me, that one of her senators thinks protective styling means you can’t have the ability to put on a mining cap because something is on top of it “protecting”, total misunderstanding. lack of education on it and hopefully it will provide some education for some and liberation for others. you tell your story online can make all the difference.
My long-awaited zine dream has come to fruition!
Promise That You Will Sing About Me is image research and curated zine with archival collages done by me, featuring poetry from Nadirah Harris with interviews about afro-textured hair care, the architecture of hair - its eye-catching form, a reflection of world view values of the times, equally important transforming + carrying forward the legacy of the past. Available as of right now, at McNally Jackson Soho location and Pushcart Presents on Essex.
I’ve been working on this project for a bit, like 2 years, and thought that it would be so easy to complete; but when you care about something, it takes time. The idea came from studying costume design, being an actor, and people not understanding what to do with my hair. Especially in regards to a hairstylist on set when they approach my hair with freight in their eyes and sweaty palms tenderness and delicacy that you handle with an orchid is the same way you handle my hair.
In addition, I use to chemically straighten my hair from 7th grade ( I saw getting a relaxer as a stepping stone into womanhood) to 11th grade. My hair got thin, scalp issues, etc etc and went to having natural hair and being completely overwhelmed with anxiety about my hair texture, desirability, and the rain hahah.
As well as, the commodifying of black hairstyles, for example, Amandla Stenberg’s DONT CASH MY CORNROWS, and feeling isolated by everyone and everything, falling into the void of otherness. You can do so much with your hair especially in regards to me I mean that’s why I’m writing this blog entry because at some point I got really frustrated with how to handle my hair and what to do with it and once I took whiteness out of the center for my existence, I saw how extraordinary black hair is.
From the Tignon Laws to our current- the Crown Act - there’s a lot of confusion on black hair care, policing on black hair and the confusion on the terminology, for example, protective styling, I recently spoke with a lovely educator in West Virginia who informed me, that one of her senators thinks protective styling means you can’t have the ability to put on a mining cap because something is on top of it “protecting”, total misunderstanding. lack of education on it and hopefully it will provide some education for some and liberation for others.