Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America

Two world wars, the Civil Rights movement, and a Jheri curl later, Blacks in America continue to have a complex and convoluted relationship with their hair. From the antebellum practice of shaving the head in an attempt to pass as a "free" person to the 1998 uproar over a White third-grade teacher's reading of the book Nappy Hair, the issues surrounding Black hair linger as we enter the twenty-first century.

Tying the personal to the political and the popular, Hair Story takes a chronological look at the culture behind the ever-changing state of Black hair-from fifteenth century Africa to the present-day United States. Hair Story is the book that Black Americans can use as a benchmark for tracing a unique aspect of their history and that people of all races will celebrate as the reference guide for understanding Black hair.

Ayan D. Byrd holds a bachelors degree in political science from Barnard College. Her work has appeared in Vibe, Rolling Stone, Honey, and InStyle magazine. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Lori L. Tharps attended Smith College and received a Masters Degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. She is currently a correspondent for Entertainment Weekly magazine. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.