When African-Americans were released from the bond of segregation (legally, at least), they expressed their pride and newfound freedom by embracing their African heritage. The cry of “Black is beautiful” echoed throughout the country, and African-Americans expressed this by dressing in traditional clothing, and – with the voice of Malcolm X urging them on – let their curly and kinky hair grow naturally into an afro. Their culture would no longer be a representation of shame, and black pride was on the rise.
In the ‘60’s, Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream, and the Black Panthers raised their fists, but it was the hippies who embraced black culture and made it their own. White teenagers sported traditional African dress in a show of solidarity with their black neighbors. White kids adopted brightly colored daishiki shirts, caftans, and ethnic accessories, along with afros (if their hair was kinky enough to manage it.)

 

While the hippies were the most instrumental in embracing this new cultural touchstone and incorporating it into the mainstream, other role models continued to reach the masses with the message of black pride. In 1962, the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown sang “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,” and in 1969 jazz legend Nina Simone co-wrote “Young, Gifted and Black.”

 

In the ‘70’s, the afro went mainstream with soul and funk music. African queens sported hair wraps and Nefertitti hats, and Jamaican Rastafarians gave us dreadlocks and colorful knitted caps called Rasta tams. 1980’s ghetto kids replaced Mercedes symbols with leather emblems of Africa around their necks. “KABA” outfits, with ornately decorated Kente cloth, took their place alongside t-shirts and jeans in the African-American community.

 

The first outpouring of cultural pride of the African-American people brought about a feeling of community and togetherness during a difficult time in US history. That pride has continued through the decades, reinventing the idea of what it means to be an American.