My First Afro Pick!

The other day I was at Sally’s Beauty Supply Store with my Mom and sister Margie picking up a few essentials.  I needed a new wide-tooth comb because mine broke (NO, not because my hair is thick as hell, it was just old).  As I looked around the aisle for a new comb, I ran across the most amazing Afro pick!  It was black with a fist on the handle and had a peace sign in the middle.  I had to have it!  The pick is made by Antonio’s Manufacturing and made in the U.S.A.  The label on the packaging calls this comb a “Styling Pik,” instead of an Afro pick.  Antonio’s Manufacturing website says they make products specially designed for natural hair styling.

This is my first Afro pick and I was actually pretty excited to use it, as lame as that sounds.  I really love the fist on the handle.  This is obviously a representation of the famous black power fist that was made popular by the Black Power Movement, political figures like Angela Davis, and Tommie Smith & John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics, as well as many other prominent African American leaders of the civil rights movement.

I also love the peace sign in the middle which to me shows the link between demanding political, social, and economic equality for African Americans and its connection to peace and justice.  On the products website it says, “This Pik features powerful symbols of the 1970’s era: a clenched black fist representing pride, strength, and self-determination and the anti-war peace symbol.”

The website also names Antonio’s Manufacturing founder Anthony R. Romani as the inventor of an Afro Rake Comb called the “Cake Cutter,” which he mass-produced during the 70’s.  The afro pick however, according to the book Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, was invented and first mass-produced by Willie Lee Morrow who also created the Jheri Curl.

And just in case your reading this thinking, ‘it’s just an Afro pick!’  I actually agree with you and think that the makers of this pick most likely made it this way a long time ago when the Afro and it’s political connections were popular, and just kept the same design over the years even after the civil rights movement lost momentum.  It obviously appeals to a certain aesthetic and people who may have had some personal connections with the civil rights movement, Black Pride, natural hair, or whatever.  The goal here, just like any other product, is to sell it and make money off it.  I get it and I still bought it!

Anyways, the pick actually worked really well to lift my twist-out and give it some body.  I am not sure why I haven’t used an Afro pick before, but now it is my go-to tool for giving my hair some height!  Do you use an Afro pick?

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Black History Month, Part 5: The Afro

Angela Davis

Jimi Hendri

Nina Simone

Pam Grier

Richard Roundtree

This look was made iconic by popular figures such as civil right activist Angela Davis, entertainers Nina Simone and Jimi Hendrix, and actors such as Pam Grier and Cicely Tyson.  The Afro gained popularity in the early 1960’s on college campuses by young adults who studied their own history and developed a nationalist point of view in order to reconnect with their African heritage.  With the help of movies such as Foxy Brown, and Shaft, TV shows such as Good Times and The Jeffersons, and musical groups such as The Jackson 5, the Afro grew in popularity from the dorm rooms to the masses.

According to my own mother, who rocked a “curly fro,” you can achieve the look by braiding your hair at night, then taking the braids out in the morning while you shape it out with an Afro pick.  She would also cover her head with a silk scarf tied at the back of the neck, to help give it the perfect round form.  Most African Americans can achieve the look with their natural texture; however, there are some African Americans who have finer hair.  Not to be left out, a way to “nap up” the hair was developed in the 60’s.  Those with straight hair could get a curly relaxer with perm rods in order to simulate the Afro.  Home remedies using beer, vinegar, and Borax cleaner were also created.  Another method involved cutting off all the chemically straightened hair then washing it with Octagon laundry soap!

The style of the afro began as a fashion statement but also as a representation of political and cultural pride.  In the 1960’s the Afro became a statement of Black power and a symbol of rebellion against the idea that curly hair is somehow less attractive than straight hair.  As political as it was personal, African hair had been systematically labeled as inferior throughout history.  For African Americans, reclaiming a sense of pride in one’s hair became a major factor in reclaiming one’s pride in oneself.  The Afro was the image that represented a movement towards a new aesthetic that embraced African art, literature, fashion, education, and politics.  The Afro was and is a celebration of African textured hair and the African American community.  Black is Beautiful!

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