A powerful celebration of self-acceptance and sisterhood.
One hundred black women tell their stories of learning to love their natural hair.
Photographer/debut author Detrick-Jules was in her final semester at Brown University when she received a troubling phone call from her father. Her 4-year-old sister Khloe’s classmates had “told her that her hair was ugly—and she believed it.” The news caused “a pain, sharp and familiar.” When Detrick-Jules was younger, she too had internalized that her natural, curly hair was unattractive. It wasn’t until she was in college that she “began to love the melanin in my skin and the curls in my hair.” Thus her book was born, a message to Khloe and other black girls that their hair is just right, just as it is. The author interviewed and photographed black women of all ages and from all walks of life, who share their images and experiences in this compelling and inspirational coffee-table book. Many of their stories are heartbreaking or infuriating. Numerous women talk of the damage done to their hair and self-esteem by perms and chemical relaxers while others have spent years fielding offensive and hurtful comments about their appearances. (One woman recalls a co-worker who casually told her that “curly hair just seems so immature.”) Some reflect on the cultural and family biases against natural hair or the privilege granted to those with “good hair.” But for every painful memory, there is a strong message of self-love and acceptance. “Your hair is a work of art,” one woman says. A woman who came of age during the height of the Black Power movement explains that not straightening her hair was a way of freeing herself from Eurocentric beauty standards as well as “liberating myself from the capitalist system” by refusing to purchase fake hair made with polluting chemicals. Others discuss how their natural hair is a way of connecting with and reclaiming their African heritage by embracing an ideal of beauty that was lost during slavery. Accompanying the illuminating and stirring commentary are gorgeous color photographs of each woman, each with her own look and personality but all equally beautiful.
A powerful celebration of self-acceptance and sisterhood.Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73423-730-6
Page Count: 230
Publisher: Kenzo Productions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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