Linda Jones spreads 'love, nappiness' message

03.28.05

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By Janar Stewart
Diversity Institute Fellow

With a symbolic handshake and a swift snap of the fingers, former Dallas Morning News Staff Writer Linda Jones taught a gathering of students, teachers and guests how to love their natural, nappy hair.

"I hope it raises awareness without getting on a soap box," Jones said in a Thursday evening lecture at the Freedom Forum in Nashville, Tenn.

Describing the discrimination black people who choose to wear their hair in its natural state often must face from mainstream America and other blacks, she said, "They question our hygiene and our sanity."

After demonstrating the "nap dap," a hip way in which two individuals with natural hair greet one another by rubbing hands, Jones read selections from her book, "Nappyisms: Affirmations for Nappy-headed People and Wannabes!"

She also interacted with audience members, sharing sing-along lyrics, encouraging people to dance and asking them to try the "nap dap" on each other. The audience of about 30 joined in enthusiastically, often offering audible "amens."

Stanley McGrady, a long-time friend of Jones, said he enjoyed the program because it enlightened him.

"It just made me think of how I look at black people," he said. McGrady, 42, said he recalled the trauma he once faced after receiving his first and only "gheri curl," a curly perm that debuted in the 1980s and required its wearer to periodically spray grease inn liberal amounts to maintain the style.

"People laughed at me," McGrady said, describing how he ran from school to avoid the taunts. He said he had the perm removed as soon as he could.

Nashville resident Bernadette Adams Davis said she decided to go natural after a bad perm experience left her head scarred.

"Hairdressers tell you not to scratch before you go in, and I did," she said. "The feeling of lye on your broken skin is bad. That was a deterrent to having it done again."

The 34-year-old Davis said she has worn her hair natural for 15 years.

Linda McKnight, a 36-year-old Freedom Forum Diversity Institute fellow, said she straightens her back-length, natural hair for manageability. She did not find Jones' performance offensive, despite Jones' metaphorical comparisons of people who perm their hair to crack addicts.

"I almost don't like having it said that people who perm their hair are addicted to it," she said. "You want to explain your point of view, but allow others to have theirs, as well."

Jones said her purpose was "self-appreciation, instead of hairstyle rejection.

"It's all about feeling good about ourselves," she said.

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