Roots Of “Black Hair Love” Relevant During Racial Reckoning
Durham, NC — Writer San Griffin in her latest book “Black Hair Love for Teens and Up” offers a collection of poems aimed at encouraging Black people to love their hair and, thusly, themselves. She educates, getting into what has been a sore spot in the Black community — the notion that straight hair is good and nappy hair is bad.
Griffin — who has a bachelor’s degree in child development and family relations, and a master’s degree in human development, both from North Carolina Central University (NCCU) — weaves in the origin of good hair-bad hair, plus other cultural flashpoints, turning them into cornerstones on which to rebuild what she sees as broken in the Black community.
There’s a poem in “Black Hair Love for Teens and Up” called “Retro Thoughts” that goes:
Silky, straight
Straightening Comb
Sulfur 8
Sizzling long
Hot plate
Be still
You’ll get burnt
A loving pop
Remind you it’s hot
Things we did for those silky-straight locs.
A reviewer wrote recently that Griffin delivers short poems that’ll nudge Black women to lean into each other with, “Girl, remember how we used to …” The brevity of Griffin’s offerings make them digestible for daily affirmations, and they’re just right as wholesome bedtime snacks to give kids something positive to chew on before going to sleep. The presentation is such, however, that devouring the entire book at one sitting is tempting and doable, although without the blues associated with most guilty pleasures.
A well-packaged conversation piece, Griffin’s book is primed to set the agenda for race relations, presenting opportunities for those of varied backgrounds to find common ground — around hair.
“Our country is more divided right now than it’s ever been,” Griffin said. “We’re extremely divided politically as we get ready to decide who will be the next president of the United States. Much of that division has to do with poor race relations. We need to find common ground around which to have productive conversations. Black people discussing Black hair with folks of other races is a way to do that in a manner that’s weighty but not too heavy.”
Compelling illustrations by Ija Charles, a soulful artist from South Carolina, could stand alone as talking points yet combine with Griffin’s words to create flurries of one-two punches.
Griffin’s other books include “Black Hair Love” and “Black Hair Love for Preschoolers.”
San Griffin is available for workshops and speaking engagements through Aggrandize Your Life, LLC. Send queries to aggrandizeyourlife@gmail.com. Reach her at 919-308-1697. More information is at www.blackhairlove.info.