Black hair culture has its roots in the black experience in America. From the transatlantic slave trade to today, African American men and women have been judged and racially classified by their hair texture and skin color.

This exhibit will explore how American mainstream culture and the African American community have dominated and influenced African American women’s ideas of beauty and image. It will also look at how African American women have risen against these influences, defined their independence within the beauty industry, and have embraced their own beauty.