My Nappy Roots: A Journey through Black Hair-itage

I attended the 2007 Maryland Film Festival to see the above titled film directed by Regina Kimbell and Jay Bluemke. The film is a 2007 Pan African film festival award winner for best documentary and is a must see in my opinion.

My Nappy ROOTS: "NAPPY HEADED"


About the film:
The other "N word" -- Nappy -- also carries with it loaded historical and cultural connotations within American society that have rarely been explored in depth outside of the black community. In recent days, the United States has learned a little bit about the negative implications of the word -- especially when used as an instrument to malign black womanhood and its accomplishments, dignity, and beauty.

Have no fear...

My Nappy ROOTS: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage is an engaging and entertaining documentary that explores the significance of black hair – its history, traditions, innovations, socio-political influences, and sometimes humorous evolution -- as well as its economic power base. Filmmakers Regina Kimbell and Jay Bluemke provide us with a fresh look at the African American community as we take a journey from Africa to America, highlighting the origins and development of the world that is black hair. We visit beauty shops, barbershops, and elaborate hair shows that provide a fuller context to the word Nappy (both positive and negative), while addressing the concepts of beauty, identity, and politics that are often reflected in the ways that black folks wear their hair.

Highlighted in the film are actors, hairstylists, barbers, hair care entrepreneurs, as well as everyday folks that provide personal anecdotes, histories and provocative points of view. Included in the conversation are Vivica A. Fox, Patti LaBelle, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Kim Fields, George Johnson (Johnson Hair Care Products), Elise Neal, Bernard Bronner (CEO of Bronner Bros., publisher of Upscale magazine), Ed Gardner (Soft Sheen), and Morgan State Professor Tendai Johnson, among others.

The film's inspiration came from an award-winning youth film by Brighton Lynscot (Kimbell mentored her teenaged daughter for the N.A.A.C.P. ACT-SO competition).









Photo (left to right): Regina Kimbell, Brighton Lynscot, and Jay Bluemke

For further information on the film and screenings, check out the film's website or the myspace page.