The Civil Rights Era led to the great empowerment of our people. Black is Beautiful.
The 1960's
“Freedom to wear natural hair, freedom from trips to the beauty salon, and the freedom that comes from no longer trying to emulate white beauty standards.”
The "Black is Beautiful" movement, which marked a turn away from Eurocentric conformity and toward Afrocentric pride, did not appear until the 1960s. By appealing to the "soul" market, this movement embraced African culture and tradition.
One of the first female African American advertising professionals and employee of J. Walter Thompson, Caroline Jones, was entrusted with creating a hypothetical campaign for a black women's cosmetic brand in 1965. (Walker). She stressed in her advertising that the products might enhance a woman's skin's natural attractiveness as opposed to trying to cover up or change it.
The black cosmetic industry started to expand significantly as new lines and a wider variety of lipstick, powder, foundation, and blush colours were created to better suit dark skin tones. Corporations started to leverage these concepts to create their own campaigns.
Grandassa Models
The word "Grandassaland" was coined to refer to Africa by Black Nationalist Carlos Cooks, whose beliefs Kwame and his gang adopted. These women were referred to as the Grandassa Models. But the fashion show wasn't only about looks; it also served as the catalyst for the Black is Beautiful movement, which spanned the 1960s and '70s. Additionally, the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina is currently hosting a traveling exhibition of Brathwaite's artwork under that same name.
The Black is Beautiful movement paid attention to Marcus Garvey's teachings and aimed to empower black women and men on the inside as much as the outside. Cook preserved the beliefs of Garvey, a political figure from the first half of the 20th century who promoted black emancipation through economic independence. His ideology was shared by the original eight models who were selected to be the first Grandassa Models. "They belonged to the community of women. They had participated in the Pioneer Movement of African Nationalists (ANPM). They were authors, stylists, and educators who adopted Garveyism's beliefs from the start, according to Kwame Brathwaite Jr., who has been archiving his father's photographs for six years.
コメント