Although the subtitle “A Journey Through Black Hair-itage” suggests that this documentary is about our hair history, I think the focus is more on the hair industry.
That doesn't make My Nappy Roots any less interesting. It's good to look back every now and then. I know the history more or less from Hair Story. A great book that tells about our hair history in a fun way. From Africa to now. Real and yet funny.
Sudana and Christiana, who I went to the show with, found it very interesting. They had never heard of some people/companies and it was sometimes hilarious to see our hairstyles again. Fortunately, we can now say that they belong to the previous century.
The film has some remarkable moments. A nappy head who recited a beautiful and very funny poem about our weave behavior, caused hilarity. I must say from both sides, kroesedes and the beweavables as they are called. The ones who could not live without a weave.
But Vivica Fox, the famous movie star, also spoke. She makes no secret of the fact that she weaves and made a point of women who wear their hair naturally frizzy, tar relaxed and weaved women with the same brush, condemning them and saying that this group is not black conscious and superficial. According to her, black conscious women come in all colors and sizes with different hairstyles.
Vivica looked even more beautiful in real life than she did on the white and I have to agree with her. I also can't stand those people from the hair police who immediately put you in a category and can be very venomous. To me they are no better than those who take an attitude against you because you wear your hair frizzy, because they are convinced that frizzy hair is not possible.
Of all the interviewees, I found the contribution of JoAnn Cornwell, who invented Sisterlocks, to be the most spot on. With Sisterlocks that reach her backside, she says exactly what it is all about. For no other people is natural hair not the norm. We are the only ones for whom natural hair is almost not normal. She immediately rose 10 points in prestige.
I have mixed feelings about the evening itself. The discussion that followed was really nothing. The panel with documentary maker Regina Kimbell, Editor in Chief of Essence magazine Angela Burt Murray, Vivica fox and other well-known people was important enough, but it really went nowhere. The worst thing I found was that the representative of Softsheen-Carton who was on the panel, said that they are also working on the development of relaxers for children.
After Essence Magazine, Softsheen-Carson, a major relaxer supplier, was the biggest sponsor of the evening. While I applaud companies that profit from us for investing back into the community, I feel like this company is missing the boat by not focusing on the natural, afro-textured hair that should be our norm. Of course, I understand that they need to make a profit, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to sponsor an event like this, but I feel like they’re missing a great opportunity by continuing to focus on relaxers.
If you really mean it to the community, you can’t ignore the fact that our hair problems are primarily caused by relaxers. 73% of black American women experience hair loss and breakage due to relaxer use. This is an epidemic that we should all be working together to combat. It doesn’t make sense to me that on the one hand they are making money from developing and selling these products and on the other hand they are supposedly helping the community. That’s nice. On the one hand they are causing problems and then asking what the problem is so they can work on a solution, but not really.
That's why this hairdresser got the prize for the evening from me. When asked what he wanted to see differently he said he wanted to see more natural hairstyles. When Vivica said to him, but relaxers pay your bills, he replied; it doesn't always have to be about money. A man after my own heart.