Description
Sometimes, hair is just hair. Sometimes, it's much more. In 1905, Madame C.J. Walker invented a metal comb that, when heated, transformed black women's hair from tight curls into smooth, straight tresses. The iron comb made her a millionaire, but many black people criticized her for creating a product that made black women's hair imitate white women's long, straight hair. From Madame Walker to First Lady Michelle Obama, this series of essays by Althea Prince and others explores the role of hairstyle in black women's relationships with their mothers, their peers, their self-image, and society as a whole. Althea Prince's books include Being Black, Loving This Man, and Ladies of the Night. She teaches at Ryerson University in Toronto.
