Black women have never had the privilege of not being political––and neither has our beauty. Texturism leads to government-mandated hair discrimination, featurism turns into the fight against “pretty privilege” while systemic racism makes maintenance––like hair, nails, and makeup––unaffordable to the working class. Throughout history, however, Black political figures reclaimed their beauty to fight against––and attest to––the difficulties we face across the board.
Below, ESSENCE takes a look at 3 times Black political figures used beauty to make a statement.
Angela Davis
Political activist, author and member of the Black Panther Party’s Los Angeles chapter Angela Davis used her afro as a symbol of Black liberation. While Black women often straightened their hair to assimilate––despite current studies linking chemical relaxers to cancer––Davis used her afro to defy European standards of beauty and affirm the African. According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, “Straightening hair was a means of survival. However, both men and women in the Black Panther Party disrupted this narrative by embracing the afro, showing that straightening hair was not needed to survive.”
Michelle Obama
As the first Black First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama was a target for not only racist but misogynist attacks—all stirred up by sleeveless dresses dubbed “Armgate”. From a purple dress when the President addressed congress to a fuschia number on the cover of Vogue, showing her toned, elegant arms was somehow against the rules. While Black women are often called masculine in a racist, misogynistic attempt to strip us of our innocence, femininity, and womanhood, Obama took it as an opportunity to assert her power and show off how strong femininity can be.
Jasmine Crockett
Jasmine Crockett, lawyer and U.S. representative from Texas’s 30th congressional district, was attacked for her lash extensions by the now booted Marjorie Taylor Greene. She turned the infamous moment into a clap back, defending the Black beauty trend. “I just want to be clear, Black women are not the only people that wear lashes, but [people who support] MAGA do this thing where they talk about my nails, they talk about my hair,” Crockett told Allure. “They’ve said over and over that I’m ghetto, I’m a DEI hire. It’s this white superiority and privilege they decide they’re going to engulf themselves in.”