A Black girl with braids is forever imprinted in the psyche of black women and men because that was and is our truth. Just as Regina King lived and breathed life into the role of Shalika in the 1991 classic Boyz in the Hood, Michaela Angela Davis shares the cemented bond between black girls and women with braids. In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, she explains why the bond between Black girls and braids is much deeper than just a style.
“Braids are the symbolic ropes that hold us together through horror and play, alike…Black girl braids are strong, resourceful and fly,” says Davis. “Black girl braids swing, honey…Braids are the evidence of blackness and girlhood, a combination often avoided in places of glamour or import. The presence of braids become cultural markers.”
75 Sizzling Loc, Braids and Twists Styles
Michaela reminds us of our braids, our brownness and our resilience saying: “American patriot Bree Newsome, armed with box braids and a bible, slayed the South Carolina Confederacy for the 21st century. It is the resilience in the very constitution of our hair which allows it to be in separated but harmonious parts while simultaneously weaving in extensions of itself. Plainly put, only black girls can authentically rock these braids.”
Do you think braids will always be a powerful symbol of Black girl culture?