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What does your hair say about you—and why does it matter so much? This week, The 77 Percent explores the politics of hair and identity. We hear from participants at this year’s Summerjam event.
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00:05When you have traits, you get discriminated.
00:09You don't judge a man by his looks.
00:11When you see this, you know it's not conformity following right behind.
00:14So we want to show the war, like, it's not, this is not, like, criminals that carry this.
00:29Welcome to the 77%. My name is Fatih Elika Moloji.
00:33And yes, you guessed right, we are here at the Summer Jam Festival.
00:37It's that time of the year again, where over 20,000 people gather here at the Falinga Zee,
00:43which is actually a lake in Cologne, for a three days camping festival.
00:54Welcome to Summer Jam!
01:01Well, here at the Summer Jam, people are free to wear all kinds of hairstyles.
01:05And we've seen Africans in all different hairstyles.
01:08We've seen them in their locks, we've seen them in braids, we've seen them in different kinds of styles.
01:12But we've seen that young people are often stereotyped, sometimes even marginalized,
01:16for the kind of hair that they wear.
01:18Some are even denied their rights as a result of their hair.
01:25What's the biggest misconception that people have of those with locked hair?
01:28I did realize when I had my locks hanging, I would go into the interview room and it wouldn't last
01:35more than three minutes.
01:36When the other person was there, for like, ten minutes, right?
01:41So I just thought, let me improvise. So I started getting my hair done up, you know, so that we
01:46can look, what do you call it, professional.
01:51I don't blame all these people.
01:53I don't blame all these people that see things that way.
01:54Some act is an act of ignorance.
01:57Because you don't know about it, you're not educated about it.
02:01You know, you don't judge a man by his looks.
02:05You know, first off, that is total failure.
02:08It's about time we stopped associating locks with radicals, you know, like, it can be called locks, dreads.
02:18You don't have to be criminal to have locks on. You just want to connect with more of your hair.
02:24It's like it's part of us.
02:28For me, it kind of almost feels like my power. I feel like when it was shorter, I didn't really
02:32understand as much.
02:34But as it grows and it's almost like, yeah, if something happened to it right now, it would probably more
02:39than likely feel a way.
02:40When you see this, you know, it's not conformity following right behind.
02:43Most of the times, like, when you have raids, you get discriminated, you know, and all of that.
02:50So we want to show the war, like, it's not, this is not, like, criminals that carry this.
02:56You know, we have diplomats that carry this. We have superstars that carry this. Ambassadors that carry this.
03:03So it's a, it's an identity for us to show the war that dreadlocks, it's not for criminals, it's not
03:10for bad people.
03:11I mean, it's actually just, you know, showing who you are and where you're from.
03:15So today we are asking, what does it mean to live in a society that often marginalizes or even stereotypes
03:21you based on their hair?
03:26We are already inside. You can see it for yourself. The stage is right behind me and that is where
03:31everything happens.
03:32And so we cannot come here without talking to some of the familiar faces of the program.
03:37And one of them is Andrew Murphy, commonly known as Mr. Summer Jam. He is one of the main hosts
03:42of this program.
03:43He's been the host actually for years now. And we want to talk to him about hair because he's got
03:48very long locks.
03:54You've got your drapes. It's so long. What does your locks mean to you?
03:59It means me, you know, because I think if you have hair like this and you walk around like this,
04:06you have to have a certain amount of pride.
04:08If you don't have a certain amount of pride in yourself, then nobody will have pride within you.
04:14So in this strong self-esteem, you have to have that.
04:24My God, I've been looking at I've been eyeing these calories for a while now. Hey, how are you?
04:29I'm good. Thank you. I am actually from the Gambia and calories are very important to us.
04:35You know, it's the river Gambia. And you know, when you are by the river, these are things that you
04:40see.
04:40That's why it's really important for us as well to sell these type of things.
04:44For example, this brand is called Afro Sasa Brass. And we sell these carry shells because it does symbolize wealth.
04:51And it was used in Africa before to exchange for money.
04:55When money wasn't existing at the time, we used carry shells to exchange that.
05:00So it was also used for protection when wars happened. So it was either money or protection that was mostly
05:05used for.
05:06And that's why we are really happy. We can sell them now.
05:08And even for women, it shows that you've come of age as well when you have them on at some
05:13point.
05:14And I'm wondering, can I use it for decoration, for example, in my hair?
05:17Because I've seen people put them in their strands.
05:19A lot of people, you can use it for different types of things.
05:22For example, you can use it as earrings, you can use it for your hair. I can even show it
05:26to you right now.
05:26Oh yeah, show me. I want to see that. I wish I had more in my hair.
05:30Yeah, you can put it as a whole strand. That's also possible. So let me just try and put it
05:35in.
05:35I see people do it all the time and it's so beautiful. And the whole time I was thinking, can
05:41I do that too?
05:42Yeah, you can. And that's definitely possible. Anyone that chooses to do it can do it.
05:46Oh my God.
05:47That's not a problem at all.
05:48Oh yeah.
05:51And then most people do it as like a whole strand.
05:53Yes.
05:53Or some people like to carry it as like earrings or even as necklaces.
05:58You know our hair.
06:00Uh-huh.
06:01How do I look?
06:02Gorgeous.
06:03Gorgeous.
06:06Thank you so much. You know our hair means different things.
06:09Yeah, it means a lot of things.
06:09A lot, yes. Different things to different people.
06:12And that is why at this point I even want us to look at that a little bit more as
06:15we're talking about hair.
06:16Because for example, people face a lot of discrimination, especially kids in countries like Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, South Africa, on
06:23the basis of their hair.
06:25So at the Summer Jam, I want to ask those young people, how does it feel living with your natural
06:30hair?
06:30And how do they cope with the stereotypes that they face on a daily basis?
06:35I want to start with you, Bibi. You look so beautiful. Oh my God.
06:41Of course you have your locks. It's growing.
06:43Yes.
06:43For how long have you had this?
06:45Now for one year.
06:47Yeah.
06:47What's your journey with your hair been like?
06:49Um, quite easy. Because like I have like fussy hair, so it's easy to lock and it went well. Like
06:57quite easy. Yes.
06:59Steph, what's your journey with your hair been like? Do you also look forward to having it locked or?
07:05Um, not really. At the moment not. I want to keep my natural hair as much as possible.
07:11But it is like easier when I like braid my hair and like corner it down because it's nicer. It's
07:21more presentable for like the people. You know? I can always like put it. I look nice. Fertish.
07:30It works. Exactly.
07:31He's from Seychelles, by the way. So pretty. Can I say that?
07:36Yeah, you can. You can. Definitely.
07:38I mean, Effia, you are of Ghanaian heritage as well and your locks is really growing. How long have you
07:45had this and what's your experience with your hair been like?
07:47I think I've been growing them for four years, but I had a Afro before that. And the thing is,
07:53I always said to myself, oh, I will never get dreadlocks. I will never get dreadlocks because I just thought
07:57it was too permanent. But then one day just something switched. I think it was like a dream.
08:01Wow. And I was like, I will have locks because I just see it for myself. And I thought it
08:07would be easier. It's not necessarily easier, but it's different. And I'm very happy I made a choice because it
08:13feels like I look like myself now.
08:15Wow. I think that is powerful. And for you, Grant, what does it mean to have your hair like this?
08:22I feel like... You're from Jamaica, you said?
08:24Yes, Jamaica.
08:24So we've got the right person on this panel as well. Talk to me about that.
08:29I've had my locks for about four years now. I remember when I first started, it was really, it was
08:33quite a struggle. My hair is quite a soft texture. So it did take time for it to form, but
08:39I'm glad that I've kept with it.
08:41And yeah, just feel free with it. I think a lot of people are more accepting of locks now, which
08:46is a good thing.
08:46I mean, for you, Bibi, tell me a little bit more about your experience. How do you get treated with
08:52your hair? How do people approach you? How do they look at you?
08:55For example, like I'm Congolese, but I'm also like from a different church. Like our women are not allowed to
09:03wear like fake hair or plastic hair.
09:05So they wear like locks, so they can still have like hair done. So like my mother was like, oh,
09:12that's so nice. Like finally, you're not wearing braids.
09:15At work, it's like a little bit different because they know me like with braids, like with colorful braids. They
09:21were like, oh, so you are going to keep it that because I'm working in a youth welfare center.
09:28So it's open. But like when I talk to my clients' parents or like to my bosses, they were like,
09:38OK, if you get your hair constantly done, it looks professional.
09:43But if it grows out, it can look unprofessional.
09:47No way. Talk to me about that a little bit. How does that make you feel when someone says when
09:53your hair grows out a little bit longer, you look a bit unprofessional?
09:56I feel like for me, I grew up in Germany. I know like they think like locks are like a
10:02little bit unprofessional.
10:04I'm trying to like teach them like, no, it's not unprofessional. My hair is just growing.
10:09Like if white people just color their hair and the color goes out, you will not say like it's unprofessional.
10:17So like with mine, it's not unprofessional.
10:21That's interesting. Steph, you are clocking to that. Tell me why.
10:25No, because I mean what Bibi said exactly. It's like, you know, whenever we come to a workplace and like
10:31we hear our hair is just we're just being ourselves.
10:35And like the people are just saying like, oh, no, this is not professional enough, you know, and no, we
10:42need to be able to like be ourselves at our workplace and just be able to express ourselves through our
10:48hair.
10:49That's all. That no one should be able to tell you whether your hair is unprofessional or not.
10:53Exactly. Exactly. Let me come to you. Tell me, how do you think people with dreads or locks have been
11:00treated in your perspective as well?
11:02They've talked about the kind of, you know, things they've experienced professionally. What is it like for you?
11:07I think there's so many different experiences, right? I know discrimination happens because of dreadlocks.
11:14This is something I was concerned about when I started it, but I pushed through and did it anyway.
11:19And interestingly enough, I feel like I get less, not harassment, but a lot less people annoy me now compared
11:26to when I had an Afro.
11:27When I had an Afro all the time, people tried to come up, touch my head and touch my hair.
11:31And now it's like, it's calmed down a lot.
11:34Like, I feel like people maybe are confused by locks at this point. And, but also what's been nice, like
11:39young people, like maybe like 14, 15, are like, oh, your hair is so cool.
11:43And that's like all ethnicities. So it's like, it's this weird thing of like, on the one hand, I don't
11:48see my hair on like fashion magazines, that kind of thing.
11:51But at the same time, I do feel like a lot of kindness, especially also from black people, of course.
11:57Maybe it speaks to what Bibi was saying when someone said, oh, okay, we're trying to understand it now.
12:02I don't know. But what is it like? Of course, I know this is a different feeling in Jamaica. How
12:07are people perceived with their locks?
12:08What does the locks mean for people in Jamaica?
12:11It's just a, I think it's a culture of just a freeness. It gives strength as well. Yeah, you just
12:17feel like you're able to embrace your culture a lot more.
12:19And is it about style as well? Or is there more to it? It's when people have their locks on,
12:26it's often associated with Rastafarian culture.
12:29Can you go outside of that? Could there be more reason why someone would want to have their hair like
12:34that?
12:34For myself, say for instance, when I wanted to start growing locks, I just wanted a new style.
12:40And as I continued growing, you kind of learn different things about locks, how to maintain it.
12:46You learn so much new things about your hair. And I think that boils down with the Rastafarians as well.
12:51They obviously grow it for a particular reason. But yeah, like a lot now, a lot of people are growing
12:56locks.
12:57Black people, white people are growing locks. It's a popular thing, to be fair.
13:02You said white people are also having their locks on. Do you think, what do you think that is?
13:07A lot of people would say, this is cultural appropriation.
13:10It is.
13:10Oh!
13:12That's because it is.
13:14Okay, the thing is, for me, like if you're a white person and you're dating a black person or someone,
13:21you know, in the Rastafarian community, maybe you're allowed to.
13:26You have the right.
13:27I think you have the past. Because you're in the culture, someone did it for you, you are supporting someone
13:33black.
13:34But if you're not, no. Cut your hair.
13:38What does it take for you?
13:39No.
13:39For me, like, I'm not a friend of white people, white people wearing locks. Because I think, like, if you
13:45are in love with the culture, if you understand the culture, and if you understand the suffering that black people
13:51and like everybody that had locks went through, you would understand, like, it's not your place to wear it.
13:59Because, like, you would never feel the same suffering as the same person. Because, like, I know a lot of,
14:06like, I have co-workers who are locks that didn't get the same comments that I get.
14:12Like, for them it's like hippie and all.
14:15What kind of, what kind of people are they? Where are they from?
14:17Like, they're German. They're like, for them it's like, it's a lifestyle, it's cool, it's like hippie, and it's freedom.
14:27But for us it's like, for me, yeah. So.
14:31I mean, you said when you had your dreads, I mean, your locks on, you felt more you. What does
14:37it mean for you? We talked about lifestyle, we talked about heritage. For you, what does it signify?
14:41I don't know, like, I just, one day I looked in the mirror and I was like, I finally look
14:45like myself, and it's hard to put it into words. Like, I just feel more relaxed, if that makes sense.
14:49Like, I feel like I go through the world, I can just be like, ugh, okay. Even if life is
14:53difficult, I can just put my hair up and it's fine. Like, I feel like it took some time to
14:58get to this place.
14:59And maybe I'll change my hair again in the future, but it just feels like it fits the lifestyle that
15:04I'm living. Yeah.
15:05And what does it take to grow these long locks? Is it possible to grow them longer?
15:10Yeah, so basically, because I already started with fairly long hair within Afro, I had an advantage and my hair
15:15was up to here.
15:16And then I just, I noticed that the less I do, the better. That was during the pandemic. I just
15:22didn't put a lot of things into my hair.
15:24I just let it grow and then helped it grow by not putting 20,000 oils, getting different hair products.
15:31I just did the least possible and it just grows. Like, basically, I mind my business and my hair minds
15:36its business and then we're happy.
15:38I love that. That's on period.
15:41So people are growing at the summer jam grounds. You can already see the color, the energy, the vibe is
15:46still ongoing.
15:47But the truth is that people in Kenya, for example, those with their locked hair are often treated with suspicion
15:53because it is often associated with defiance.
15:55But the history about locks go way back. And my colleague, Edith Kimani, tells us more on that.
16:02In Africa, Ethiopian Coptic priests reportedly wore their hair locked as early as in the fifth century.
16:09By 3000 BC, there was evidence of people in the Sahara with locks.
16:14Archaeologists have even found Egyptian mummies buried with locked twigs.
16:18And it wasn't just Africa.
16:21In India, locks were linked to Hindu holy men, including the god Shiva.
16:26In Mexico, Mesoamerican people wore locks from the 14th century.
16:30Celtic tribes, Viking warriors and Maori fighters in New Zealand are just a few other examples of people who wore
16:38locks.
16:39But it wasn't until the 1950s that locks took their place in Kenya's history.
16:47A group of guerrilla fighters pushing for the country's independence emerged from the forest with their hair matted into freely
16:53formed locks.
16:55The Mau Mau became synonymous with locks.
16:58Locks became defiance.
17:00Defiance became a dreaded crime.
17:03In post-colonial Kenya, locks would re-emerge, this time as a symbol against an oppressive regime.
17:10In the 1980s, activist Koigi Wawamuere grew out his hair while in detention after he was denied a comb.
17:17The government tried to shave him.
17:19He refused.
17:20He took them to court and won.
17:22In Kenya particularly, dreadlocks were a source of dread.
17:27Media mogul Eugene Bugwe explains.
17:30This was a mark of identity for them.
17:33And depending on which spectrum your parents were on, whether the collaborators or the fighters, it ended up being demonized
17:41and I imagine also because of Christianity and stuff.
17:43And so I feel like a lot of our generation of our parents are not over that.
17:53Eugene locked his hair more than a decade ago.
17:55Since then, he's enjoyed an evolving relationship with his locks.
17:58As a successful founder and CEO, he is free to wear his hair as he chooses.
18:04However, while his choice of locks is praised as being original or edgy, the same hairstyle is regarded with suspicion
18:11on artists or less established people.
18:13In Kenya, locks have become a visual marker through which class and respectability are interpreted.
18:21Eugene knows this and admits it informs some of his hangups.
18:25I'm not comfortable with my hair open.
18:27I don't know.
18:28It always feels untidy, uncomfortable.
18:35I barely ever have it done.
18:37Which I think has contributed also to me being able to get ahead corporately despite them.
18:44Which is a problem in itself because what is wrong with African hair flinging out and being let loose.
18:57Honestly, I just wish that daily life can be like this.
19:00Where people can just be free to express themselves without any form of restrictions.
19:05Because unlike what we see here in Kenya, the police have institutionalized the prejudices against people with locks.
19:13And it goes even further into schools.
19:15Where in Ghana, for example, people have used their own biases to formalize stereotypes that reinforce prejudices against people with
19:24locks.
19:24And kids in particular have suffered because of this.
19:26So let's go to Ghana to see what is being done to change these perceptions.
19:33For some Ghanians, dreadlocks are more than a hairstyle.
19:36They can be a part of a person's culture or religion.
19:39So why are they still controversial?
19:42It is the abuse of it.
19:44When you open the space, the abuse of it.
19:47That is a major reason why we really talk about students not wearing dreadlocks.
19:54It's how the abuse of it.
19:56The society, in a way, associates radicalism and the rest with those kind of raster hair.
20:04That's where the debate gets interesting.
20:06Should a student's hairstyle have anything to do with the ability to learn?
20:10Does wearing dreadlocks affect academic performance?
20:14I've not found any studies that directly links wearing of, in the context in which we are speaking, dreadlocks to
20:22academic performance.
20:24There's no research that shows anything like that.
20:26Yeah.
20:26But of course, if you wear a long hair, a dreadlocks, for you to keep it well, you will have
20:32to invest time and resources into it.
20:35Unlike the low haircut where a student will just wake up, their colleagues may even help them in cutting their
20:42hair.
20:43With the rest, the dreadlocks, you need to give it a special attention.
20:46If a student's hairstyle does not affect academic performance, why is the education system bent on policing hairstyles?
20:54Back to you, Fatou, at Summer Jam.
21:04You know, it's such a great feeling to see a festival that has been in existence for the past 40
21:10years change perceptions and just celebrate diversity.
21:13Which is why I really enjoyed that conversation I had with those cool young people about what can change going
21:20forward
21:20and how can people continue celebrating their own natural hair without any restriction?
21:27We talked about, of course, Rastafarian culture, African heritage.
21:31But again, going forward, how can people change their thinking?
21:36What's the one thing you want them to change about the way they see hair but also looks?
21:40A lot of people need to know that hair is more than just the look, especially for black people.
21:48And they need to educate themselves. Because, like, for other races, it's just like hair.
21:55But for us, it's not. And that is something that other races need to understand about us.
22:01Tell me a little bit more about that. Just demystify it a little.
22:04When you say, for us, the locks is not just hair. It tells a story. A little bit on that.
22:09Yeah, because, like, there's so many people with locks. It's like, it's something spiritual. It's something religious.
22:18Something has, the hair styles, like cornrows. It tells a story. Like, for example, for us, like, we put rice
22:25in our cornrows.
22:27Like, it's like something spiritual. So it's just, it's not just a look. Like, people just want to say, like,
22:33it's just a look.
22:34No. For you, it's just a look. For us, it's more. Because we have history that goes in deep, like,
22:42with everything. Yeah, that's why.
22:44Exactly. And what about you, Steph?
22:46Just to, um, put up what Bibi said, like, uh, cornrows, like, you know, it was, it was made, like,
22:53people to escape, to escape the fields, to escape their, their colonizers.
22:58So it was, it was, it was made in a map so that people are able to tell their ways
23:03to go out of the situation.
23:04And I think, like, people just need to understand, white people need to understand what it is before they start
23:11wearing it. That's all.
23:13Do you think it can also be a form of solidarity when someone feels like they can do it as
23:18well? Or you don't see it that way?
23:20I mean, I'm all about supporting black businesses, but just people, people, white people need to, like, be able to
23:28have it mentally that, you know what?
23:30This is our, this is our culture, and they need to respect that.
23:35This is a no-go territory.
23:37Okay, going forward, how do you think young people can change their perception towards hair, natural hair, but also locks
23:44as well?
23:45I think young people just should have just, they're just able to, like, express themselves, like, you know, freely.
23:53Young people just need to express themselves freely. That's all.
23:57We talked about the discrimination, we talked about the importance of embracing one's heritage and story.
24:03Going forward for you, how do you think this message can be cemented in our culture and in our society
24:09today?
24:09If the more of us do it, the better. Like, I've definitely had relatives saying, oh, why are you doing
24:14this with your hair?
24:15And the key point is, is like, you have to keep going and be the person that is different.
24:19So, for example, in your family or in your circle of friends, you kind of shine as an example and
24:24then other people like, let me also try it up.
24:26So I think it's just like living by example and then hoping that other people follow.
24:31What is it for you, Grant? How can we change that?
24:34Don't listen to social media. Don't listen to social media. Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
24:40Well, we have it. I think it's very strong, what we've been able to gather. It's about heritage, it's about
24:46culture, it's about pride.
24:53That was an interesting debate and I really enjoyed that because I think it summarises our conversation very nicely.
24:59And at the end of the day, a big takeaway for me is that people should be able to live
25:04life for themselves, live life for you and be intentional about how you want to do that.
25:10Not all hope is lost. In countries like Kenya, Malawi and South Africa, people are taking this issue of hair
25:16to the courts and winning.
25:18The most important thing is that people need to respect the laws in place that ensure that people are not
25:23discriminated on the basis of their hair.
25:25And secondly, you, the 77%, wear your hair with pride, whether locked or natural. Just be yourself.
25:33We should all be able to live in harmony and this generation can change that.
25:40Follow us on all our social media platforms. Let's continue conversations like this.
25:45I am Fatalika Moloshi from the Summer Jam. Thank you so much for watching.
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