The Afro sometimes shortened to 'Fro and also known as a Natural, is a hairstyle worn naturally by people with lengthy kinky hair texture or specifically styled in such a fashion by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair. The hairstyle is created by combing the hair away from the scalp, allowing the hair to extend out from the head in a large, rounded shape, much like a halo, cloud or ball. In persons with naturally curly or straight hair, the hairstyle is typically created with the help of creams, gels or other solidifying liquids to hold the hair in place. Particularly popular in the African, Caribbean and African American community of the late 1960s, the hairstyle is often shaped and maintained with the assistance of a wide-toothed comb colloquially known as an Afro Pick. Natural hairstyles were considered ugly or offensive and therefore the hair was processed to attain a texture that was similar to or mimicked silky, straight hair. Wigs were also popular among black women. Only members of the Nation of Islam rejected processing and straightening, believing that to do so was to embrace notions of white superiority and that the natural attributes of black people were unattractive.

The Fro as a Political Statement

During the late sixties, fashions changed with the times, reflecting the independence and identity of a young generation determined to break free from their parents' values and mores. The civil rights movement and political protests gave way to the Black Power Movement, which rejected Dr. Martin Luther King's emphasis on non-violence as a form of political struggle. More young African Americans stopped processing their hair and allowed it to grow out naturally. One reflection of this trend was that the Afro reflected the growing political and cultural progressiveness and self-esteem among black people during those times. It became more than a hairstyle or fashion trend but a political statement that allowed black people to express their cultural and historical identity. In the beginning, the Afro was not popular in the black community, particularly among older black people who were still driven by older values that the young people were rejecting. By the end of the decade the hairstyle grew more prominent as people such as Stokely Carmichael and members of the Black Panthers began wearing the hairstyle. Women, such as Angela Davis, whose Afro was a famous image of the late sixties and early seventies, let their hair grow out as well, fashioning them in large naturals or in Afro puffs, two ponytails tied together by ribbons. One person who would make the Afro more acceptable was James Brown. Throughout most of Brown's early career he processed his hair, but by the time he recorded Say It Loud-I'm Black and I'm Proud, Brown let his hair grow out naturally as a statement of Black pride and self-sufficiency. His song and the Afro came to define Black America during the 1960s fashions and became a political and cultural statement.

“…. It became more than a hairstyle or fashion trend but a political statement that allowed black people to express their cultural and historical identity…”

Variations of the afro have been worn by one or both sexes in the many disparate cultures of Africa. Due to the hairstyle's links to members of the African-American Civil Rights and The Black Power Movements, the afro was seen by several outside cultures as a dangerous symbol of political unrest, including Tanzania where the Afro was banned in the 1970s because it was seen as a symbol of neocolonialism and as part of an American cultural invasion. The hairstyle was also banned in Cuba during the 1960s. In the 1950s and 60s, South African women were also known to wear their hair in an Afro-type style during the fight against apartheid and political unrest. The Afro did not rise to the same level of popularity among the Caribbean community as it did in the United States, in part because of the popularity of the dreadlocks, which played an important role in the Rastafari Movement. Not unlike the Afro's significance among the members of the American Black Power movement, dreadlocks symbolized black pride and empowerment amongst the Rastafari of the Caribbean.

“…The Afro did not rise to the same level of popularity among the Caribbean community in part because of the popularity of the dreadlocks, which played an important role in the Rastafari Movement…”

Expanding the Fro

The Afro grew in popularity and size by the 1970s. The long hairstyles of the white hippie generation coincided with the growing out of black's hair and larger Afros that were worn by entertainers such as the Jackson Five. As the 1970s began, many celebrities and popular sports figures could be seen with an Afro, including people who hadn't necessarily been a part of any movement in the sixties. The Afro moved into mainstream culture and simply became a fashionable style, worn by many people of all different ethnicities, including Caucasians and people of Jewish descent.

Modern Day Fro

The afro reemerged in the 1990's and 2000's in pop culture. The Afro is still alive in some countries more than others. In some indigenous tribes around the globe, the afro is worn as part of tradition. In countries such as America, the style is much the same it was in the beginning of the Black Is Beautiful Movement. Some wear it short, some long. However, it is no longer a political statement. With equality closer between whites and blacks, it's just another hairstyle shared by not only black people, but also less commonly by whites, Latinos and more.