Many stories about Black hair in mainstream news start with something bad -- a racist comment, policy or action bringing someone's choices about their hair into the spotlight. This Black History Month, HuffPost reporter Ja’han Jones wanted to highlight Black hair in a different way: based on the thoughts and feelings of the people who actually have it. The result is a series called Black Hair Defined, which includes several articles and a digital museum.
We talked to Ja’han about how the project came together.
Coverage for annual events like Black History Month can sometimes be a challenge, but the Black Hair Defined series is a smart and unique way in. How did the idea come about?
Literally, the idea came about as I was listening to Rick James’ “In The Raw,” which is a compilation of songs recorded live in 1982. The cover depicts James with his shirt open on a bright red background, but I was most drawn to the glistening curls that were draped around his face. I thought about the care that went into maintaining his iconic look, and I thought about the sense of pride he very obviously felt when he wore it. All of that reminded me of the hairstyles I wore as a child, all the family and community members who helped me care for them -- at my barbershop, in my kitchen and elsewhere -- and I thought about all the stories Black people can tell about our own beauty decisions.
Your piece introducing the series explains how Black hair has often been looked at through a white lens. Can you share more about how the project consciously moves away from that framing?
Presently, most mainstream news stories about Black hair revolve around the people who detest it: for example, high school referees who demand Black dreadlocks be cut before athletes compete or exclusive workplaces that deem Black hairstyles “unprofessional.” White privilege is the only explanation why the views of some old white referee in New Jersey -- who has never had Black hair and never will -- carry more weight than my views or the views of any of this project’s participants. I really wanted to create something that elevates important and authoritative views on the matter.
As I wrote in the project’s introduction, “Black hair deserves to be defined by more than its fiercest critics.”
The digital hair museum celebrating Black hair is a great component. How did you find people to feature and what was the concept behind it?
I love the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, located in Harlem. I visit often, and as I perused their website one day I saw that they offered “online exhibitions,” which are essentially digital versions of exhibits you’d find in a physical museum. I was incredibly motivated by the accessibility in that. Everyone can’t always make it to a museum, but if you can convey all the contents of a museum in creative, captivating ways and reach people through their phones or computer screens, I think there’s tremendous power in that.
The participants came to us in a number of ways. Some of them are Verizon Media employees who work in our building; others are associates of mine and of other HuffPost employees.
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