![The Look](/sites-drupal/default/files/styles/max_scale_640x640/public/field_ers_item_record_image/2021-02/The%20Look.jpg?itok=HWx8OYrP)
The Look
In many respects, fashion was the most immediate and obvious marker of Black Power’s influence, while it simultaneously reflected the ideological diversity of the movement itself. Many younger African Americans, regardless of the degree to which they were politically active, donned Afros, African-inspired clothes, or sartorial inflections of militancy often associated with organized black nationalist or revolutionary organizations.
Fashion was a clear declaration of what some called the “new black mood,” which swept Black America. The fundamental thrust of Black Power was black self-determination, and a very clear affirmation of black people’s humanity. To that end, racial pride was inextricably tied to the cosmetics of blackness.
By the waning years of the Black Power movement, African Americans had been indelibly affected by the fundamental goal of self-love, racial pride, and community affirmation. “Black” was no longer a fighting word. The black press was no longer full of advertisements encouraging readers to get their skin as white as possible. Natural hair on black people was not viewed as bizarre. Universal pride in blackness, however it could be quantified, remained elusive, but no moment had pushed black people closer to it than this era. It was one of the many ways that Black Power substantively shaped the cultural landscape of the United States.
Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, University of Connecticut
Installation Image by Roy Rochlin. Main Exhibition Gallery, Schomburg Center