I was really excited for the first challenge of ANNM. What better way to celebrate Black History Month than to honor the hairstyles that paved the way for Black Hair today!

For this challenge I chose to represent my hairstyle choices in a literal sense. I really wanted each picture I took to be representative of the era I was conveying. The first hairstyle I choose was African Braids. Braiding is and has been an integral part of Black and African hair. Our African ancestors used braiding and cornrows to emulate agriculture. That is where we get the word “cornrow” because it resembles a row of planted corn.

My next picture is of a slave woman in America. Headwraps were the token hairstyle for slave women because not only did they not have the time to spend on their hair, they also did not have the resources. Many women today choose to style their hair with a wrap to protect their hair and also because of its beauty.

Next, I have a picture from the 70s era. The Afro not only looks divine, it is also a very powerful symbol. The Afro represents black pride and power and to this day still carries a lot of weight in the black community.

The last two pictures represent me as a black woman in 2013. In the picture of me on the rocks, each rock symbolizes a moment in black history, another chapter in embracing our hair just as our African ancestors and our 70s soul sisters did. The picture in the field represents the freedom that I feel as a woman with natural hair.  In this challenge I chose not to include depictions of relaxers or weave styles. Although they are a big part of our hair history, these are not the styles I chose to represent.

I did all of my own makeup and hairstyles for this challenge.

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