Are we still our hair?
21 May 2009 Leave a Comment
This is my favourite scene from the movie “School Daze”…Although it’s pure satire, it does pose interesting commentary about “the hair issue” (aka the straight vs. nappy hair wars) that has plagued the black American community since slavery.
In the 21 years since School Daze hit the theaters, natural hair has become wildly popular, perhaps even mainstream…There are so many websites dedicated to natural hair, that I trip over them whenever I surf online…Admittedly, you wouldn’t have seen this back in ’88 (even if the internet was existent, haha).
Now that we’ve gotten comfortable to the point where one can assert “I am not my hair”, does this mean that the hair wars are over? I would like to think so (for the most part at least). I haven’t seen hair being a major sore spot around my neck of the woods. I’ve been dreadlocked for 5 years, relaxer-free for 10 and I’ve yet to receive any negative comments about my hair…My friends and family are natural, relaxed, weaved or whatever they wish to be at the moment…
So…In your opinion, is the hair war still on? Share your stories…
