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Arts and Culture

Rooted in Tradition: The Intricate History of Black Hair Braiding

Braids are a multicultural hair fashion. Braiding has been identified in Africa, Greece, Italy and Egypt dating as far back as 2000 BC. Along with the many cultures, there are many types of braids including Micro braids, goddess braids, Ghana braids, snake, mohawk, Dutch, French, halo, fishtail, waterfall and so on. There appears to be as many types of braids as there are types of hair. African American braids hold a rich and significant history that goes beyond mere aesthetics, deeply rooted in culture, tradition, and resilience.

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Portrait of Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV. Public Domain.
Portrait of Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV. Public Domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

Braids are a multicultural hair fashion. Braiding has been identified in Africa, Greece, Italy and Egypt dating as far back as 2000 BC. Along with the many cultures, there are many types of braids including Micro braids, goddess braids, Ghana braids, snake, mohawk, Dutch, French, halo, fishtail, waterfall and so on. There appears to be as many types of braids as there are types of hair.

African American braids hold a rich and significant history that goes beyond mere aesthetics, deeply rooted in culture, tradition, and resilience. These intricate styles, which have adorned the heads of African people for centuries, carry with them stories of identity, resistance, and cultural pride.

The history of braiding dates back thousands of years to ancient Africa, with evidence of complex braiding found in ancient Egyptian artifacts dating as far back as 3500 BCE. Braiding was more than a hairstyle in many African societies, serving to classify its practitioners, too. Different styles could communicate a person’s age, marital status, wealth and tribe. The Himba of Namibia are masters of elaborate braiding, employed to denote stages of a woman’s life.

The early Africans put to good use their ancient knowledge of coded languages against their masters. One of such means was through the multifaceted African black hair. It was in this time that the cornrows patterns on Afro hair became more complex. Communications between slaves were restricted but the braids and cornrows they wore could send the necessary messages where needed. These included locations to meet, thoughts, and responses.

African women would braid rice and other grains into their hair, or their children’s hair, to ensure they had food during the Middle Passage, the 80-day journey that transported enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to America. This practice was called cornrows and involved hiding other seeds and grains, such as okra, peanuts, benne, and watermelon. The women would braid these items into their hair before traveling, or before separating children between plantations.

Enslaved Africans also used braiding to maintain a sense of community and to pass on traditions and knowledge through generations.

Braids are not just a style; this craft is a form of art. Women and men of all ages are getting their hair braided on a day-to-day basis casually or for an elegant event. The art of hair braiding has evolved beyond the original cultural purposes.

From ancient African societies to contemporary fashion runways, braids have remained a powerful symbol of identity and resistance. As we continue to celebrate and honor these intricate styles, it is crucial to remember and respect their rich historical and cultural significance.

Activism

New Oakland Moving Forward

This week, several socially enterprising members of this group visited Oakland to explore ways to collaborate with local stakeholders at Youth Empowerment Partnership, the Port of Oakland, Private Industry Council, Oakland, Mayor-elect Barbara Lee, the Oakland Ballers ownership group, and the oversight thought leaders in the Alameda County Probation Department.

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iStock.
iStock.

By Post Staff

Since the African American Sports and Entertainment Group purchased the City of Oakland’s share of the Alameda County Coliseum Complex, we have been documenting the positive outcomes that are starting to occur here in Oakland.

Some of the articles in the past have touched on actor Blair Underwood’s mission to breathe new energy into the social fabric of Oakland. He has joined the past efforts of Steph and Ayesha Curry, Mistah Fab, Green Day, Too Short, and the Oakland Ballers.

This week, several socially enterprising members of this group visited Oakland to explore ways to collaborate with local stakeholders at Youth Empowerment Partnership, the Port of Oakland, Private Industry Council, Oakland, Mayor-Elect Barbara Lee, the Oakland Ballers ownership group, and the oversight thought leaders in the Alameda County Probation Department.

These visits represent a healthy exchange of ideas and plans to resuscitate Oakland’s image. All parties felt that the potential to impact Oakland is right in front of us. Most recently, on the back side of these visits, the Oakland Ballers and Blair Underwood committed to a 10-year lease agreement to support community programs and a community build-out.

So, upward and onward with the movement of New Oakland.

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Arts and Culture

BOOK REVIEW: Love, Rita: An American Story of Sisterhood, Joy, Loss, and Legacy

When Bridgett M. Davis was in college, her sister Rita was diagnosed with lupus, a disease of the immune system that often left her constantly tired and sore. Davis was a bit unfazed, but sympathetic to Rita’s suffering and also annoyed that the disease sometimes came between them. By that time, they needed one another more than ever.

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Love Rita Book Cover. Courtesy of Harper.
Love Rita Book Cover. Courtesy of Harper.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: Bridgett M. Davis, c.2025, Harper, $29.99, 367 Pages

Take care.

Do it because you want to stay well, upright, and away from illness. Eat right, swallow your vitamins and hydrate, keep good habits and hygiene, and cross your fingers. Take care as much as you can because, as in the new book, “Love, Rita” by Bridgett M. Davis, your well-being is sometimes out of your hands.

It was a family story told often: when Davis was born, her sister, Rita, then four years old, stormed up to her crying newborn sibling and said, ‘Shut your … mouth!’

Rita, says Davis, didn’t want a little sister then. She already had two big sisters and a neighbor who was somewhat of a “sister,” and this baby was an irritation. As Davis grew, the feeling was mutual, although she always knew that Rita loved her.

Over the years, the sisters tried many times not to fight — on their own and at the urging of their mother — and though division was ever present, it eased when Rita went to college. Davis was still in high school then, and she admired her big sister.

She eagerly devoured frequent letters sent to her in the mail, signed, “Love, Rita.”

When Davis was in college herself, Rita was diagnosed with lupus, a disease of the immune system that often left her constantly tired and sore. Davis was a bit unfazed, but sympathetic to Rita’s suffering and also annoyed that the disease sometimes came between them. By that time, they needed one another more than ever.

First, they lost their father. Drugs then invaded the family and addiction stole two siblings. A sister and a young nephew were murdered in a domestic violence incident. Their mother was devastated; Rita’s lupus was an “added weight of her sorrow.”

After their mother died of colon cancer, Rita’s lupus took a turn for the worse.

“Did she even stand a chance?” Davis wrote in her journal.

“It just didn’t seem possible that she, someone so full of life, could die.”

Let’s start here: once you get past the prologue in “Love, Rita,” you may lose interest. Maybe.

Most of the stories that author Bridgett M. Davis shares are mildly interesting, nothing rare, mostly commonplace tales of growing up in the 1960s and ’70s with a sibling. There are a lot of these kinds of stories, and they tend to generally melt together. After about fifty pages of them, you might start to think about putting the book aside.

But don’t. Not quite yet.

In between those everyday tales, Davis occasionally writes about being an ailing Black woman in America, the incorrect assumptions made by doctors, the history of medical treatment for Black people (women in particular), attitudes, and mythologies. Those passages are now and then, interspersed, but worth scanning for.

This book is perhaps best for anyone with the patience for a slow-paced memoir, or anyone who loves a Black woman who’s ill or might be ill someday. If that’s you and you can read between the lines, then “Love, Rita” is a book to take in carefully.

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Activism

Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear  the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

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Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.
Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear  the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing,  just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.

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