VIRTUAL London Heritages Conference

Abstract

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This paper examines how new generations of Black Latin American women have transformed their hair into critical heritage. Through a three-year research project with Black women in Santiago, Chile, and Cali, Colombia, the concept of “heritage hair” was explored to understand how hair puts the idea of heritage within the realm of racial experience and anti-racism. Employing participatory action research and ethnography, we identified more than thirty distinct practices associated with the care and aesthetics of Afro hair. Additionally, we documented a range of decolonial spaces of heritage resistance, including “juntanzas,” Afro-centred enterprises, “micro sessions,” braiding contests, turban workshops, and the widespread dissemination of publications on Afro hair via social media. The analysis of this living heritage reveals the profound connection between Afro hair and the notion of heritage as a bodily materiality tied to the ancestral idea of Africanness, the redress of slavery’s legacy, the affirmation of Black identity, and the socio-visual and socio-emotional navigation of racism. Furthermore, it functions as a collective force for the preservation and reinterpretation of traditional knowledge. This extends beyond hair aesthetics to encompass a wide array of social, affective, economic, educational, and political interactions. One such example is the concept of “itọju ẹbi,” which underscores a commitment to the care of one’s family and community.