Wynther Gedeon, 19
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Interview
"White people will wear Cornrows, and gel down their baby hairs and it's cool. But when people of color do this it is weird. For example Kylie Jenner gets dreads and it’s cool but when Zendaya wears dreads, someone says that her hair probably smells like weed and patchouli oil. I’m not saying white people can’t wear braids but you need to recognize that we did it first and you used to laugh at me for it."
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Interview
"White people will wear Cornrows, and gel down their baby hairs and it's cool. But when people of color do this it is weird. For example Kylie Jenner gets dreads and it’s cool but when Zendaya wears dreads, someone says that her hair probably smells like weed and patchouli oil. I’m not saying white people can’t wear braids but you need to recognize that we did it first and you used to laugh at me for it."
Aliya Clunie, 18
Brooklyn, NYC
Interview
"It's how you choose to express yourself, and how you want your hair to be."
Jamifel Pacheco, 21
The Bronx, New York
Interview
"There is a whole shift in mentality that has to take place. I wasn’t personally brought up in a household that was like love who you are and what you look like no matter what. I felt pressure to look a certain way. When you can decide to love your natural hair whether or not it fits the mold everyone thinks is beautiful, you are rising above society’s pressures."
The Bronx, New York
Interview
"There is a whole shift in mentality that has to take place. I wasn’t personally brought up in a household that was like love who you are and what you look like no matter what. I felt pressure to look a certain way. When you can decide to love your natural hair whether or not it fits the mold everyone thinks is beautiful, you are rising above society’s pressures."
Isabella Louis, 18
Silver Spring, Maryland
Interview
"Anti-blackness is so paralleled in our society that people would not see the anti-blackness unless it was shown. "
Kara Pride, 19
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Interview
"I used to intern in a court and I didn’t wear my hair natural because it didn’t look professional. Why isn’t my hair professional? Why do I have to straighten my hair to have a professional look? It is this idea that your natural-black-state whatever it is, is not professional."
Harmony Jackson, 19
Miami, Florida
Interview
"It’s not your hair but what you do with it. Hair has so much possibility it’s really about how you manipulate it. Don’t fight with your hair, work with it. I literally talk to my hair. Please do not try to fight with your hair! Form a truce!"
Miami, Florida
Interview
"It’s not your hair but what you do with it. Hair has so much possibility it’s really about how you manipulate it. Don’t fight with your hair, work with it. I literally talk to my hair. Please do not try to fight with your hair! Form a truce!"
Tyler Rohoblt, 19
Baltimore, Maryland
Interview
"We are all different, and there should always be someone out their representing who you are. We live in America, a place that is very diverse, and everyone needs to have representation of who they are. Everyone has their own hair and it should be represented in a positive way."