As Vice President Kamala Harris hits the campaign trail, the focus is as much on her style as her policy plans. Although her opponent may be able to get away with whatever that is happening on top of his head, VP Harris knows she can’t step out with a single hair out of place.
“So you know, I don’t use a curling iron,” Harris told Keke Palmer on a 2023 episode of her podcast Baby, This is Keke Palmer. “It’s too much heat, I use a round brush.”
The country might not be ready for a Black woman to enter the White House with corn rows, but we are showing up in every space wearing styles that show off the diversity and creativity of our culture.
From Michelle Obama to Jada Pinkett Smith, these Black celebrities have used their hairstyles to make a serious statement.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama wore the perfect silk press during her eight-year stint in the White House, telling The Washington Post she made a conscious choice to wear straight hair as the country was getting used to the first Black women in the position, saying Americans “weren’t ready” for her natural hair.”
But since she’s left politics, Mrs. Obama has been seen out and about with braided styles. She even made a visit back to the White House in 2022 for the unveiling of her and former President Barack Obama’s White House portraits wearing braids pulled back into a low bun – making a powerful statement that was not lost on Black Twitter.
“Something that will mean ALOT to Black people across the country: Former First Lady Michelle Obama wearing braids at the unveiling of her official White House portrait,” Politico White House correspondent Eugene Daniels posted on X about the moment.
In an exclusive interview with The Root in 2020, United States Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) revealed that she decided to stop wearing wigs to cover the hair loss she’d suffered while living with alopecia so that she could free herself from a painful secret.
“I’m ready now, because I want to be freed from the secret and the shame that secret carries with it. Because I’m not here just to occupy space — I’m here to create it,” she said in the video.
Since then, she’s proudly worn her shaved head as she serves the people of Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives.
“I am grateful to have an ID that finally aligns with where I am on this journey called life,” she wrote in a 2021 Instagram post showing off a new Congressional ID card with an updated picture of her new look.
After relaxing her hair for years as a young woman, actress Lupita Nyong’o made the big chop at age 18.
Nyong’o says being bald helped her become more confident with her natural hair.
Actress Sanaa Lathan shaved her head to take on the role of Violet Jones in the film adaptation of the Trisha R. Thomas book “Nappily Ever After.” Although she was a little nervous about the idea of such a dramatic change, she found herself loving her look and even keeping it for a while.
“It was terrifying, but like most terrifying things, once you jump, it turns out to be surprisingly great. I actually continued shaving my head for four months after we finished the film because it felt so freeing, so good,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2018.
Actress Viola Davis’ roles on stage and screen require her to wear a variety of wigs, weaves and other styles. But in 2012, she made the decision to walk the Oscars red carpet wearing her natural hair.
“When I took the wig off, I found the balance. And I have to tell you, I felt really good. I felt surprised with how good I felt. I wrote my own headline [that night]: ‘Viola stuns with her natural hair,’” she said at the time.
Most people associate actress Halle Berry with her iconic pixie cut. But the truth is, she’s been experimenting with cuts and colors for years.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made history as the first Black person to serve in the position. She says that while she believes her curly locs make her one of the most recognizable Press Secretaries, the decision to rock her natural hair is not about making a political statement.
Willow Smith is another Black celebrity who has gone viral for her daring dos.
From braided styles to afros, she’s never afraid to take risks and show off her style. “IN ❤️ WITH THIS SHAPE,” wrote her stylist Vernon François on Instagram about her perfectly-picked afro.
Actress Taraji P. Henson has never been afraid to try a new do – even when it happens on accident. She admitted that her latest orange locs were the result of a glitch when she was trying to go golden instead.
“It’s sort of a fluke. We were trying to go blond, and at about 2 o’clock in the morning when my hair didn’t lift, it kept turning this color,” Henson told NBC on September 11. “I was like, ‘I guess the universe wants me to be orange.’”
When we first met actress/model Eva Marcille, she wore a stunning short haircut. But in 2020, Marcille said it was her daughter who helped her make the decision to begin growing locs.
My daughter Marley has been loc’d for almost 5 years and I’m just trying to get like her,” Marcille shared in a 2020 Instagram post. “I love the freedom my locs give me.”
Sasha and Malia Obama grew up in the White House with perfectly pressed tresses throughout most of their childhood.
But like their mother, the former First Daughters have worn braids and other creative protective hairstyles since leaving 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Chris Rock’s comments about actress Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head at the 2022 Academy Awards led to the slap heard around the world. But since her 2018 alopecia diagnosis, Pinkett Smith has been open with fans on Instagram about how she’s coped with losing her hair.
“Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something😜,” she captioned a 2021 post. “Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!😆.”
