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MOSETTA'S HAIR DAY... HER STORY
All I had in mind was a simple grassroots hair grooming session for my sister friends. They were women who
wore Afros, dreadlocks, braids or other African-inspired hairstyles and preferred wearing their hair free of chemical relaxers.
I invited them to my house where we would go back to our roots. In other words, we would do our hair ourselves. The
response was more than I expected.
Twenty women showed up at my house in Dallas on that Sunday afternoon in May
1998. Imagine seeing various shades of sisters gathered on my back deck, engaged in laying their healing hands on nappy heads.
They were talking, laughing and just having fun. A sister named Denise, who wore a perm, was so inspired by the sight of us
nurturing our hair, that she spontaneously called for someone to cut her own hair down to its natural roots. It did not matter
to that none of us were professional hairstylists or barbers. She trusted us. My friend Annette, who happened to be an artist,
was brave enough to grab a pair of scissors and volunteer to do the job. Denise sat patiently and without fear as Annette
went to work. After nearly an hour of snipping, all traces of Denise's relaxed hair was gone and her new growth appeared.
When Denise she saw her reflection in the mirror, we applauded her new, natural look.
Since that first gathering,
my Happy Nappy Hair Care Affair, which has now become known as “Hair Day” has grown in popularity and is being
imitated in many other cities and even in other countries.
One of the Hair Day participants who claimed I am leading
her and others from hair bondage, jokingly dubbed me “Mosetta,” as in a female Moses. The name stuck.
Many humorous and poignant stories are shared during Hair Day gatherings. At some sessions we have been moved to dance,
recite poetry and sing. At these gatherings my sister friends and later the brothers who began to attend, found a place where
they felt that their hair is the rule, not the exception.
Hair Day has evolved into much more than a hair grooming
session. It has become a special time for my sisters and brothers to gather and celebrate our culture, simply by allowing
ourselves to be who we really are.
All I had in mind was a simple grassroots hair grooming session for my sister friends.
They were women who wore Afros, dreadlocks, braids or other African-inspired hairstyles and preferred wearing their hair free
of chemical relaxers.
I invited them to my house where we would go back to our roots. In other words, we would
do our hair ourselves. The response was more than I expected.
Twenty women showed up at my house in Dallas on that
Sunday afternoon in May 1998. Imagine seeing various shades of sisters gathered on my back deck, engaged in laying their healing
hands on nappy heads. They were talking, laughing and just having fun. A sister named Denise, who wore a perm, was so inspired
by the sight of us nurturing our hair, that she spontaneously called for someone to cut her own hair down to its natural roots.
It did not matter to that none of us were professional hairstylists or barbers. She trusted us. My friend Annette, who happened
to be an artist, was brave enough to grab a pair of scissors and volunteer to do the job. Denise sat patiently and without
fear as Annette went to work. After nearly an hour of snipping, all traces of Denise's relaxed hair was gone and her new
growth appeared. When Denise she saw her reflection in the mirror, we applauded her new, natural look.
Since that
first gathering, my Happy Nappy Hair Care Affair, which has now become known as “Hair Day” has grown in popularity
and is being imitated in many other cities and even in other countries.
One of the Hair Day participants who claimed
I am leading her and others from hair bondage, jokingly dubbed me “Mosetta,” as in a female Moses. The name stuck.
Many humorous and poignant stories are shared during Hair Day gatherings. At some sessions we have been moved to dance,
recite poetry and sing. At these gatherings my sister friends and later the brothers who began to attend, found a place where
they felt that their hair is the rule, not the exception.
Hair Day has evolved into much more than a hair grooming
session. It has become a special time for my sisters and brothers to gather and celebrate our culture, simply by allowing
ourselves to be who we really are.
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