WHAT'S "LOCKS"" GOT TO DO.... BY SAMUELLA AMOAKO-BOATENG

19 August 2018

                                                            BOB NESTA MARLEY
This blog post has been on my mind for a while; and I actually had to do some research before I actually wrote this post. I wish this post will become an 'Open Forum' where others will share their thoughts and experiences. I have a Question; What are 'Dreadlocks'?  With the influx of 'Faux Locs'  as a hairstyle choice, it got me thinking 'Has 'locking' one's hair been finally accepted as part of the Black Culture (Never said it Wasn't) or are people just looking for a hairstyle alternative to braids?
  With this thought on my mind, this blog post was inspired; I took it upon myself to ask anyone I came across who had ',Dreadlocks' on his or her head what it meant to them. It just happen that i work in retail and I happen to meet people from all walks of life, and most of the people I spoke to who had 'locks' told me their 'locks' give them an 'IDENTITY'.
       Dreadlocks as a hairstyle has been frowned upon by many corporate institutions in the United States, having dreadlocks has been termed 'illegal' in most workplaces; the United States Navy recently "okayed'  dreadlocks as an approved hairstyle. Let's take a look at the history of dreadlocks in the Black Community. Dreadlocks has been around since 2,500 BC, but the legendary Jamaican musician Bob Marley brought Dreadlocks as a hairstyle in the mainstream culture sometime in the 70's.  Dreadlocks has a spiritual roots and is named after a Jamaican tradition; from the Rastafarians in Jamaica, Dreadlocks signifies the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and has a Biblical Nazarite history, to the Indian sages ,Yogis and Slaves during the transatlantic slave trade. Dreadlocks was brought about by some Holy eastern men who possessed nothing,denied themselves of the world and didn't even have a comb. The eastern men were feared because of how their hair looked and most important the reason they  looked  the way they  did.
  Every pop-culture fan knows Bob Marley introduced  dreadlocks into pop-culture,Mr. Marley was a man of passion, love, light and wisdom; this  attributes vibrated through his songs, and thus made him a world-renowned musician who was respected all over the world. As a nubian queen, I don't condemn the wearing of straight hair or anything of that sort, but I really believe in the wearing of our natural hair to rectify our identity. Wear dreadlocks isn't bad neither does it make your hair dirty or make you look any less attractive. Before I wrote this article, i got the opportunity to talk to this lady who had dreadlocks and asked her why she had dreadlocks, And she told me how her mum always used to tell her, her hair was very hard to deal with and thus her mum decided to perm her hair, because her straight hair was easier to deal with. She also spoke about how she being in the military didn't allow her to have any hair but straight European looking hair. So she said after her tenure with the military and basically taking instructions from everyone she decided to do something that gave her an identity and also give her a back-bone of some  sort.
     Even though dreadlocks were abolished after slavery ended; Dreadlocks are very spiritual and have a deeper meaning than what pop culture has made it to seem, dreadlocks is your identity as a black woman, don't be embarrassed to acknowledge your spirituality, identity and culture..  Lock away Queen
                                                                    XOXO,
                                                                    Sammi

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