The Afro
The pressing comb and chemical straighteners has always been stigmatized within the community as symbols of oppression and imposed White beauty ideals. Blacks sought to embrace beauty and affirm and accept their natural physical traits. One of the ultimate goals of the Black movement was to evolve to a level where Black people “were proud of black skin and kinky or nappy hair".
As a result, natural hair became a symbol of that pride. Negative perceptions of black hair and beauty had been passed down through the generations so they had become ingrained in black mentality to the point where they had been accepted as simple truths. Wearing natural hair was seen as a progressive statement, and for all the support that the movement gathered, there were many who opposed natural hair both for its aesthetics and the ideology that it promoted. It caused tensions between the Black and White communities, as well as discomfort amongst more conservative Blacks.
The black hair care industry was initially dominated by white-owned businesses. In the late 19th century, African-American entrepreneurs such as Annie Turbo Malone, Madam C. J. Walker, Madam Gold S.M. Young, Sara Spencer Washington and Garrett Augustus Morgan revolutionized hair care by inventing and marketing chemical (and heat-based) applications to alter the natural tightly curled texture. They rapidly became successful and dominated the black hair care market. In 1898, Anthony Overton founded a hair care company that offered saponified coconut shampoo and AIDA hair pomade. Men began using pomades, and other products, to achieve the standard aesthetic look. Black-owned business in the hair industry provided jobs for thousands of African Americans. These business owners gave back strongly to the African-American community. During this time, hundreds of African Americans became owner-operators of successful beauty salons and barber shops. These offered permanents and hair-straightening, as well as cutting and styling services, some to both whites and blacks. In this era men regularly went to barber shops to have their beards groomed and some blacks developed exclusively white, elite clientele, sometimes in association with hotels or clubs.
African Americans began sponsoring their own beauty events. The winners, many of whom wore straight hair styles and some were of mixed race, adorned black magazines and product advertisements. In the early 20th century, media portrayal of traditional African hair styles, such as braids and cornrows, was associated with African Americans who were poor and lived in rural areas.
