by Desire’ Jackson-Crosby and Cynthia Ntinunu
What is hair? Is it just a follicle on the top of one’s head? Or is it a piece of you that evokes certain feelings? The natural hair journey is a unique experience for anyone who goes through it. For some it’s a straightforward journey and for others there’s a lot to unpack.
This project allowed 11 people to relive and share their natural hair journeys-from their struggles to their triumphs. Below is four of the 11 for part one of the natural hair stories series.
Uju Onochie
Uju Onochie went to a predominantly white school for part of her childhood and she hated it. Being one of the few black kids in class, she remembered seeing the white girls’ hair and she’d play with it. Thoughts of “why can’t my hair be like this?” would circle her head as her fingers brushed through the girls’ hair. (Click the image above to read her full story)
Rania White
Nappily Ever After, a movie about a women coming to terms with her natural hair debuted on Netflix in 2018. When freshman Rania White saw it she started to shed some tears. White saw a part of her in main character Violet Jones. (Click the image above to read her full story)
Faith Perez
Faith Perez wears her curls proudly, knowing they don’t make her who she is but they remind her of who she is. And who she is has come with some struggle. Perez is Haitian-Puerto Rican and calls Brooklyn, New York home. She’s majoring in Animal Science and is in her freshman year.(Click the image above to read her full story)
Franzchesca Dormeus
Natural hair doesn’t only impact one person. Rather it can affect the people around you, especially younger generations. With a baby cousin that has coarse natural hair, known within the natural hair community as 4c hair, Franzchesca Dormeus wants to empower her baby cousin to love her natural hair. And the only reason Dormeus can do this, is because she has gone through her own journey of love and self acceptance with her natural hair.(Click the image above to read her full story)
The Rebirth Project 