The Afro haircut was a style that became popular in the 1960s. I show several other examples of it on this site. They were high-maintenance haircuts; people had to constantly groom the ball with long-toothed combs called picks. This woman’s was not quite symmetrical because of some wind when I was taking the shot. People put up with the trouble of maintaining this distinctive look because it was a symbol of African-American pride. The Civil Rights Movement was still very much alive and active in the mid-1970s. This shot was taken just a few years after the assassination of Martin Luther King.
The Afro’s popularity was not simply due to the fact that it was a symbol of pride and solidarity. Many African-American entertainers, such as Jimi Hendrix, also favored this look.
