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When the cry of “Black is beautiful!” echoed throughout the ‘60’s, black pride was in full gear, and black fashion followed. African-Americans reclaimed their interest in African dress and accessories, and many stopped the popular habit of processing and relaxing their hair in an attempt to more closely fit in to the white standard of beauty. The hairy halo that was the afro was born.
Malcolm X preached against the “whitening” of black hair in the 1950’s, speaking out against the chemical straightening process that relaxed the kinkiness of black hair. The Blackstone Rangers, an African-American street gang, answered the call with their “ranger bush”, a tall, compact afro that was cultivated to soften the blows from police billy clubs. The philosophy was that the solidarity of the African people in a white-dominated world would help protect all blacks against brutality, and the afro was a symbol of this newfound expression.

 

In the ‘60’s, racial expression took the afro to the counterculture, and white hippies with naturally curly or kinky hair grew their own afros in a show of racial harmony. The artwork for the popular musical “Hair” featured Marsha Hunt’s extreme afro, and the style became as symbolic of the ‘60’s as the ubiquitous peace sign.

 

Musicians in the 1970’s perpetuated the look with funk band Sly and the Family Stone sporting foxy ‘fros with platform boots and sequined jumpsuits, and Michael Jackson’s well-coiffed style in the 1982 album, Off the Wall (that’s before he started another hair trend with his relaxed jheri curl.) Blaxpolitation films made the afro a symbol of black power with Richard Roundtree’s superfly ‘fro in Shaft and Pam Grier’s fox ‘fro in Coffy – these heroes could fight the bad guys and still look fly!

 

In reality, the afro took care to grow and maintain. A careful cut was required to create a symmetrical halo, and a liberal spraying of Afro Sheen gave it it’s trademark gloss. Regular combing with a big hair pick was also necessary, and the plastic pick was a regular feature in the back pocket of many flared leg jeans.

 

Then again, if the care and maintenance of your ‘fro was too much trouble, you could always buy a perfectly shaped afro wig made of 100% Dynel, a synthetic fabric that could make you look like Shaft or Black Panther leader Angela Davis in no time at all.