The reasons that people wear headscarves are very diverse as they range from political reasons to religious reasons and so on. The history of the headscarf as I know it, began when slave masters required African American women who were slaves to wear their hair out hence why they wore headscarves. However, Black women began to get creative with the styles that they put their headscarves in, often relaying messages to and from one another that their slave masters could not understand. The headscarf is not important to me because it hindered the ability of African American Women to express themselves by showing their hair, but it is something that represents my identity. My grandmother often wore headscarves to church for style and to represent the African American culture. When she wore headscarves, she often had an outfit to match with it that she would also wear to church every Sunday. Since she attended a historically Black church in Harlem called Abyssinian Baptist Church, this was something that was common for the African American women that attended the church to wear. Although there were many people who wore other clothes such as dresses, skirts, etc, the headscarf was something that my grandmother wore to represent her African American heritage and the beauty that she found in it. This is one way that my grandmother has inspired me to express my heritage and the many beauties of it. Whether it be wearing a headscarf to church, school, or even the park, it will always represent the beauty of my culture, or more specifically, the beauty of being Black. 

– Danasia Patrick

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more