On behalf of the black community, I would like to use Black History month as an opportunity to gloat and bask in the reemergence of self-expression through natural hair.

Why you ask?

Because once upon at time, black hair in its natural state was historically and socially viewed as being dry, ‘nappy’, unkempt, brittle, unmanageable, and well, just plain ugly and unattractive. (Shitty, right?) Now imagine the great lengths that black woman have gone to in order to conform to the traditional paradigm of beauty–you know, straight and bouncy long hair. We’ve weaved, worn flowing wigs, chemically processed, relaxed and treated rain like it was kryptonite all in order to manipulate our beautiful curly textures into images and ideas that have left a lot of us wondering: what’s wrong with our own hair?

The answer? Nothing.

And thanks to this amazing realization, droves of women have been returning to sporting their own natural born hair. From blogs and YouTube tutorials, the natural hair movement has taken off again (after it initially flourished in the late ’60s and ’70s) with no sign of slowing down.

So, if you’re still looking for a reason to go natural–or just want to see some beautiful hair, then join us as we pay homage to some influential women with kick ass style, and even lovelier locks.