IIll LIB6ROTOD THROODS GENDER AND AMERICAN CULTURE Coeditors Thadious M. Davis Mary Kelley EditorialAdvisory Board Nancy Cott lane Sherron De Hart John D'Emilio Linda K. Kerber Annelise Orleck Nell Irvin Painter Janice Radway Robert Reid-Pharr Noliwe Rooks Barbara Sicherman Cheryl Wall Emerita Board Members Cathy N. Davidson Sara Evans Annette Kolodny Wendy Martin Guided by feminist and antiracist perspectives, this series examines the construction and influence of gender and sexuality within the full range of America's cultures. Investigating in deep context the ways in which gender works with and against such markers as race, class, and region, the series presents outstanding interdisciplinary scholarship, including works in history, literary studies, religion, folklore, and the visual arts. In so doing, Gender and American Culture seeks to reveal how identity and community are shaped by gender and sexuality. A complete list of books published in Gender and American Culture is available at www.uncpress.unc.edu. LIDOROTOD THROODS BLACK WOMEN, STYLE, AND THE GLOBAL POLITICS OF SOUL Tanisha C. For The University of North Carolina Pre CHAPEL HILL This volume was published with the assistance of the Greensboro Women's Fund of the Uni- versity of North Carolina Press. Founding contributors: Linda Arnold Carlisle, Sally Schindel Cone, Anne Faircloth, Bonnie McElveen Hunter, Linda Bullard Jennings, Janice J. Kerley (in honor of Margaret Supplee Smith), Nancy Rouzer May, and Betty Hughes Nichols. © 2015 Tanisha C. Ford All rights reserved Designed by Kimberly Bryant and set in Utopia by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Manufactured in the United States of America The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. The Uni- versity of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003. Cover illustration: Olive Morris leading a rally in front of the Central Library in Brixton in 1978. Courtesy of the Lambeth Archives Department, London, England. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ford, Tanisha C. Liberated threads: Black women, style, and the global politics of soul / Tanisha C. Ford. i-Edition. pages cm. - Gender and American culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4696-2515-7 (cloth: alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4696-3613-9 (pbk.: alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4696-2516-4 (ebook) i. Minority women-United States. 2. Women, Black-United States. 3. Feminine beauty (Aesthetics) -United States. 4. Beauty, Personal-United States. 5. Stereotypes (Social psychology) in fashion-United States. 6. Globalization-United States. I. Title. HV1421.F67 2015 391.0082'0973-dc23 2015006177 Portions of Chapter 3 were previously published as "SNCC Women, Denim, and the Politics of Dress;' Journalof Southern History 79 (August 2013): 625-58, and are reprinted here with permission. For Malik Contents Acknowledgments, xi INTRODUCTION BlackWomen and the Making of a Modern Soul Style, 1 1 Reimagining Africa, 13 How Black Women Invented the Language of Soul in the 1950s 2 Harlem's "Natural Soul," 41 Selling Black Beauty to the Diasporain the Early 196os 3 SNCC's Soul Sisters, 67 Respectabilityand the Style Politics of the Civil Rights Movement 4 Soul Style on Campus, 95 American College Women and Black Power Fashion 5 We Were People of Soul, 123 Gender,Violence, and Black PantherStyle in 197os London 6 The Soul Wide World, 159 The 'Afro Look' in South Africa from the 1970S to the New Millennium EPILOGUE For Chelsea: Soul Style in the New Millennium, 185 Notes, 191 Bibliography, 215 Index, 237 Figures i.i. Miriam Makeba, The Voice ofAfrica album cover, 14 2.1. Lou Donaldson, The Natural Soul album cover, 42 2.2. Freddie Roach, Brown Sugar album cover, 61 2.3. Lou Donaldson, Good Gracious!album cover, 62 2.4. Flamingo magazine, May 1965 "Nigerian Edition," 64 2.5. Big John Patton, Oh Baby! album cover, 64 3.1. Atlanta University students seated on steps, 71 3.2. Freedom School director Lorne Cress at her home in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 77 3.3. Protesters at the 1963 March on Washington, 83 3.4. Joyce Ladner at the March on Washington, 85 4.1. Indiana University students in the Black Culture Center, June 1976, 96 4.2. Members of the Black Panther Party at the Lincoln Memorial, ioo 4.3. Amye Glover senior high school yearbook photo, 1O6 4.4. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Tau Chapter, 1O9 4.5. Amye Glover wearing zebra-print maxi dress and matching head wrap, 113 4.6. Amye Glover's dorm room, u5 5.1. Afro-British hairdressing student, 132 5.2. Olive Morris and members of the London Black Panthers, 141 5.3. Olive Morris speaking with a woman police officer, 151 5.4. Afro Hairand Skin Care guide, 153 5.5. Hair braiding diagram in Afro Hairand Skin Care guide, 153 5.6. Olive Morris leading a rally in Brixton, 155 6.1. African fashion spread, Drum magazine, October 1972, 167 6.2. Afro wig advertisement, Drum magazine, April 1970, 178 6.3. Stoned Cherrie "Table Mountain" dress, 2013 Spring/Summer Collection, 182 6.4. Stoned Cherrie "Johannesburg Skyline" skirt, 2013 Spring/ Summer Collection, 182 Acknowledgments Many people helped me take this project from an idea in my head to a completed book. First and foremost, I have to thank my parents, Amye Glover-Ford and Herman Ford, for giving me such a fine cultural and po- litical education. Our house was filled with the soul sounds of such artists as Nina Simone, Gil Scott-Heron, Curtis Mayfield, and Aretha Franklin, and our walls were decorated with elaborate African-inspired artwork and masks. My mom dressed me in T-shirts that read "Black is Beautiful" and "The Revolution Will NOT be Televised." Though I did not realize it at the time, these things left an indelible mark on me. I also thank my son, Malik Ford, the best kid in the world. You have been so tolerant of me, even when I was stressed out, in tears, and on the verge of insanity while writing this book! Just like Nana and Papa enveloped me in love and gave me an in- valuable cultural and political education, I have tried to do the same with you. Our family's tradition of passing on personal stories and cultural- political knowledge from generation to generation captures the spirit of community that is at the core of this book. I want to thank my mentors and colleagues at Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin who have been there from the beginning and have watched this project develop. Claude Clegg, Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, Purnima Bose, Khalil Muhammad, and John Bodnar provided great in- sight, guidance, and wisdom. The women of my first writing group (led by Purnima Bose)-Laila Amine, Roxana Cazan, Anne Delgado, and Karen Dillon-kept me sharp and on top of my game. I owe sincere thanks to Audrey McCluskey, William Van Deburg, Christina Greene, Craig Werner, the late Nellie McKay, Stanlie James, Matthew Guterl, Debbie Cohn, Micol Seigel, Jason McGraw, Ellen Wu, Michelle Moyd, Ben Eklof, Carl Wein- berg, Ebony Utley, and Ed Watts for reading drafts of my early work, sug- gesting readings, and offering mentorship. My community at the University of Michigan helped me develop the project and expand the transnational components of the work. Special thank yous go to Tiya Miles, Brandi Hughes, Jessica Welburn, Martha Jones, Sherie Randolph, Stephen Ward, Stephen Berrey, Xiomara Santa- marina, Meg Sweeney, Sandra Gunning, Kevin Gaines (now at Cornell University), Nesha Haniff, and Elisha P. Renne. My friends and colleagues in the Five Colleges have been excellent conversation partners, readers, and editors. My deepest thanks go to Britt Rusert (we go way back to the Dublin days!), Whitney Battle-Baptiste, Tameka Gillum, Barbara Krauthamer, Joye Boyman, Julio Cap6 Jr., Pri- yanka Srivastava, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Emily Lordi, Bettina Judd, Carlos "Rec" McBride, K.C. Nat Turner, Chris Tinson, Karen "Kym" Mor- rison, Jim Smethurst, Yemisi Jimoh, Laura Doyle, Manisha Sinha, Rachel Mordecai, John Higginson, Marf Castefieda, Keisha Green, Christina Knight, Khary Polk, Liz Pryor, Laura Lovett, Micaela Dfaz Sanchez, Amil- car Shabazz, Dee Shabazz, Marla Miller, Daphne Lamothe, Banu Subra- maniam, Laura Briggs, Miliann Kang, Alex Deschamps, Svati Shah, Angie Willey, Armanthia Duncan, and Rosa Clemente. A special thankyou is due my research assistant, Kingsley Bradley, for organizing my archive and de- ciphering my "academic speak." To the students who have come through my Feminisms and Fashion and BlackWomen in Popular Culture courses: our conversations have influenced this book in meaningful ways. Thanks for teaching me how to write for your generation. Many colleagues and friends have contributed to my intellectual growth and emotional well-being. To my besties from the Wisconsin Afro-American studies days, Phyllis Hill, Sherry Johnson, and Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch (my mother calls us "The Posse"): I love you ladies dearly, and I'm happy that our friendship continues to blossom. Eric Darnell Pritchard, Robin Brooks, Michelle Gordon, Shannen Dee Wil- liams, Charles Hughes, and Crystal Moten, I benefited greatly from our conversations both in and out of the classroom. To my IU grad school family, Siobhan Carter-David, April Faye Smith, Kimberly Stanley, Regina Bradley, Byron Craig, Fredara Hadley, Alyssa and David Amponsah, Cory Broadnax, Carl Suddler, and Bergis Jules: our gatherings and conversa- tions helped me survive grad school! Thank you for keeping me positive and spiritually nourished. Jasmin Young and Janine Mobley: thankyou for being such wonderful thinking partners and friends during my fellowship year in London. To my homegirls Treva B. Lindsey, Jessica Johnson, Britt- ney Cooper, and Joan Morgan: love y'all.