Works Cited

Works Cited


1) "Biography." Willie Morrow's Education Foundation. Sevris Designs, 2001. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.      .
2) Jones, Lafayette. "My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Our Hair-itage." My Nappy Roots. My Nappy    Roots: The Movement, 2003. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .
3)"Afro Comb Exhibit." We Are The Village. W.J. Murchison Community Center. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. .
4) MissFroLab. "400 Years Without a Comb – Willie Morrow." FroLab. FroLab, 19 Mar. 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
5) Carol, Tulloch. "The Resounding Power of the Afro Comb." Hair: Styling, Culture and Fashion. By Sarah Cheang. Oxford: Berg, 2008. Print.


6) Painter, Nell Irvin. Creating Black Americans. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.

THE AFRO COMB: Today

The Afro remained a popular hairstyle throughout the 20th century with famous figures in the music industry like Michael Jackson and The Supremes sporting the hairstyle.

Young Michael Jackson

The Supremes

The Afro Comb is still finds itself in popular culture today:

Rapper/Hip-Hop artists Ludacris

A popular costume called "DiscoFro"

T-shirt depicting the Afro Comb and the clenched Black Power fist

Important artifacts throughout history tend to come and go. But their message always stays. Could African-American's live without the Afro Comb? Of course. But it will always remain an incredible source of self-expression for Black individuals. For Africans, it was an art form--a nothing crafted into something that told stories and bore great cultural and philosophical meaning. For African Americans, it was the embodiment of a truth long denied to an entire culture of people: Black is Beautiful. 

The Rebirth of the Comb

In the 20th century, some years after the abolition of slavery, the market would see a birth of many hair products designed specifically for African Americans, starting with "Madam C.J. Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower". However, African Americans would not see the creation, patent, and mass production of the Afro Comb/Pik until the 1960-1970's.

Original Madam CJ Walker's hair product of the early 1900's.

The market for black hair products would see a slue of relaxers and products throughout the course of the 1900's. It would see different styles, too. However, the Civil Rights movement and the subsequent Black Power movement of the 1960's greatly influenced what style would come next:  the Afro.

The Afro Comb Patent

Many scholars admit that it is difficult to trace back to the beginning the introduction of Afro-Comb to the U.S. However, many attribute the mass introduction to Willie Morrow, black entrepreneur of the 1960's and 70's, and man who holds hundreds of patents on black hair products. In 1977, the U.S. patent office granted Morrow his patent on the Afro Comb. Before that, in 1966, he engineered the first plastic-injection molded combs which would later become the most popular, most sought after Afro Combs in the U.S. 

Standard Afro Comb patented by Willie Morrow

The Afro & the Black Power Movement: 

The two are inextricably bound. From what we have learned through this course, and through Painter's text, we know that the Black Power movement in the US emerged from the need for African Americans to define themselves, "positively, regardless of what white people thought. Black Power turned African Americans away from American values, even away from American identity," (Painter 292).

American culture had long been defining beauty as any and all things white: straight, silky hair, a slender body, and fair skin. The definition of what was attractive in America essentially ignored all things African American. Google "hair of the 1960's" and you will find a plethora of images of white women with blonde and brunette, silky shining hair. You have to search diligently and click to page 9 before  you find a single black women's hair. 

The above images are 3 of the first results when one searches Google for "hair of the 1960's"

The above image is the first and one of the only images that Google returns upon the same search of "hair of the 1960's'"

Carol Tulloch, African-American author and scholar of black style in the African Diaspora, agrees that Western culture has and continues to glorify white predominately white characteristics, particularly in females. She writes, "And in order to erase that message, black people attempted to set their own standards of what is beautiful. Within the black power movement, and long before individuals black individuals began sporting the afro-comb or afro-pick."

Black individuals adopted the powerful mantra "Black is beautiful," as a way to create and own their personalized definition of beauty, as a means of definition and determination of the self. Within the Black Power Movement and the Black is Beautiful movement, African-American's created an identity that harbored a sense of pride in who they were. Their natural culry black hair and their dark skin had been the source of much ridicule and degradation by the white population.They never fit the mold of what Western Culture defined as beautiful, but they did not have to. A sense of pride replaced centuries of white-inflicted shame.

Black is Beautiful

One of the most sought-after, popular artifacts of the Black Power movement is the Black Power Comb:

The clenched fist was a powerful symbol of the time. It represented a unique solidarity in the resounding ideologies of the Black Power Movement. It was adopted by members of the Black Panther Party, students who rose in protests at their universities, and perhaps most recognizably in the 1968 Olympics where African American runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos rose their fists during the American national anthem. The symbolic gesture was synonymous with the black power movement and it found its' way onto the Afro Comb. 

The Death of the Comb

Since the very moment of their capture as slaves on their home continent, and throughout the hundreds of years they spent in chains, Africans were rarely allowed to care for their hair. Slaves were hardly given the opportunity to groom themselves, and take care of their bodies--a basic human right. This was particularly problematic for field slaves, whom were exposed to the elements much more so than house-slaves. House slaves received better treatment, and easier living conditions than field slaves (although still nearly unbearable). Female house slaves often wore scarves around their hair, as they never wanted to "burden" their master's with the image of their "unsightly" hair. 

The image of a house slave in Alabama in the early 1800's.

The appearance of one's matted and tangled hair became a source of shame and self-disgust for the African American. The manifestation of this shame, and the way it would morph into a source of pride will be shared shortly.

THE "WHAT": Definition, and Roots.

DEFINITION: The afro comb is exactly what it sounds like: a device invented to comb and maintain natural black hair. Today's combs are very different from the afro combs of Africa:

The Afro-Comb is modeled in a way that is best suited for African American hair. The wide spaces between the teeth of the comb allow thicker hair to pass through them.

ROOTS: The Traditional African Comb

The afro comb, or afro pik as it is referred to by many, finds its roots in Africa. The date of its' origin, however, is difficult for researches to find. Researches DO know that the African Comb was a significant part of black culture. 

Combs served a great purpose to Africans. They were not only tools--a means to make the monotonous daily activities a little more simple--but they too were gifts, pieces of art, and beautifully crafted artifacts that told tales of its owner's people.

Combs were mainly crafted from wood, hand-carved by men that often spent days, even weeks perfecting their art. Combs were also carved out of other materials like ceramics, fish or animal bones, and even ivory, when accessible. 

Left: a comb carved out of Ivory, most likely originating from the Ivory Cost

Right: an ornate comb carved from pewter and ceramic.

Traditional wedding comb

Combs were often given to women as a gifts by an adoring male. A Bridal comb, like the one above, was often given to a woman on the day of her marriage. These combs were especially large, ornate and intricately carved. They decorated the brides home, and were used on extremely special occasions. The more combs a woman had, the more wealth or beauty a visitor could assume she possessed. 

The importance of proverbs, and oral history to African tribes manifested itself in their art. Combs were often designed with a specific story or proverb in mind. 

The comb to the left displays the image of two birds with their backs to one another. This image conjures up the Ghanian proverb that attests to a chiefs omniscience. The proverb states, "The chief sees everything, even what is behind him."

THE AFRO COMB: A brief intro & why...

The Afro-comb is not, by any means, a modern development. True, it is a popular item today, recognizable to individuals of all races. For the African-American, though, it represents an artifact full of history. It speaks a story that spans continents and centuries. 

I did not choose this material item arbitrarily. I will, with the slightest bit of shame, admit that I did not know where to begin. How does one decide lightly, what object they will choose as representative enough of an entire culture? So where did I begin? Google, of course. I typed into the search engine: "material items significant to African American Culture". Google, in all of its magical glory, returned with a slew information just waiting to be digested. After much consideration, I chose an object whose history seemed to resonate powerfully. The Afro comb is not just a tool that makes some everyday task more efficient. It is not representative of one particular period of time. It captures history, an attitude, a feeling about one's identity as a black individual. Simply put, the Afro Comb seemed too good to pass up.