This is Jenny Shears, and the photo was taken by Aultman Studio in the 1890s. American Legacy featured this photo, sharing that little is known about Jenny. But for the 1890s, her look and natural hairstyle were considered “casual and racy” for the time period.
We love her for the fierceness she brings in one single pose, and would also like to add;
“Hair that was worn long and bushy,” argue Shane and Graham White, authors of Stylin,’: African American Expressive Culture, from Its Beginning to the Zoot Suit, “emphasized and flaunted its distinctive texture [and] may have been an affirmation of difference and even of defiance, an attempt to revalorize a biological characteristic that racism had sought to devalue.” -Ayanna Byrd and Lori Tharps, Hair Story, 2014
Celebrate Black History. Be Self-Love in Action.
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