Good Hair Vs. Bad Hair

My MNN series Global Village Talk’s 2003 documentary entitled “Good Hair vs. Bad Hair” was independently produced by my company D-Day Media Group for MNN Time Warner Cable TV in New York City. Over the ensuing several years this segment, “Good Hair vs. Bad Hair” was made available throughout Time Warner’s Public Access schedule yearly cycle and appeared on stations beyond Manhattan in Brooklyn and the Bronx during its broadcast expansion roll-out and incorporation of Internet-based programming.

My original production of “Good Hair vs. Bad Hair” remains an important forerunner to a host of subsequent videos, movies, TV studio-based productions, books, and media outlets that later covered topics dealing with an aesthetic narrative surrounding Black hairstyles and racial representation that followed. In 2009, iconic model and Talk Show host Tyra Banks produced a segment addressing the question “What is Good Hair?” on her popular TV show. In the same year, comedian Chris Rock produced, narrated, and co-wrote a highly successful documentary feature film entitled “Good Hair.”

My interest in producing, writing, and documenting the cultural impact of Black hairstyles and textures as cultural markers and representation was spurred unexpectedly. Initially, I had reservations about producing a segment on “Black hair” until I read an article that my daughter wrote and shared with me. She had written about racism in Cuba and that nation’s cultural and racial nuances surrounding racial hair texture. Her column appeared in Havana’s popular local newspaper and elicited a curt editorial rebuttal from Cuban President Fidel Castro, who suggested that her views reflected the pampered American Bourgeoise.

Later I was fortunate to have brilliant friends who are well acquainted with the aesthetics of natural and African hair styles, including super-model Marcia Fingal and former DRUM Television anchor/producer and noted author and journalist Liv Wright. They joined me for this lively video discussion.

In March of this year, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Crown Act and voted 235 to 189 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of hair texture and hair styles. The bill now goes to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain.

I am pleased that this 58-minute documentary continues to have a role in informing, educating, and liberating viewers globally.