Natural Hair on CNN

He touched it gently, then began to rub it between his fingers. Then he stroked it. I know he was drunk but I'd only met him about 3 hrs earlier and HE WAS BLACK? Why the heck is a black dude rubbing my hair like he's never seen a black woman's real natural hair before? Yes, he rubbed it... much like my 2 year old niece rubs things when encountering a new texture for the first time. You know I had to ask, "Haven't you ever touched natural hair before?" In short, the man who was grown up by his grandmother with his two sisters said, "No." 

Next to the Japanese and Chinese students that I attended school with, black people ask me the most questions about my hair. Most white women, especially older caucasion women only gave me compliments. My story is the reason that an article by Lisa Respers France, CNN, recently captured my full attention. She discusses not just Tamara Winfrey Harris' experience where a total stranger reached for her hair in a restaurant, but views on the fascination non-blacks have with touching black women's natural hair. 

Although many of my natural ladies, especially those of us who are the racial minority in their community, experience this regularly, the article is still an excellent read.The video below which accompanied the article features Keneesha Hudson, founder/owner of Urbanella in Atlanta.

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