Around 50 people came to Northwestern’s first Black Hair Expo this
Sunday. Held in the Louis Room in Norris, vendors set up booths and
tables with samples of hair care products made for black hair.
Hair vendors
The event ran from 3-5 p.m. and was sponsored by Impact at NU, a
black Christian organization. One of its main goals was to support
fellow students, said Cameryn Farrow, an organizer of the event.
The Weinberg junior said it can be difficult to find salons that
cater specifically to black hair around campus. Even of the “gems”
students can find in Evanston, she said, it’s hard to know what to
trust, and that prices can generally be expensive. This is one of the
reasons Impact wanted to hold the expo.
“We thought one thing that should be consistent within the black
community, regardless of your gender identity or anything, is your
hair,” Farrow said. “We want to create an opportunity for people to
learn about nearby hair salons, barbers, as well as product lines, and
also give them an opportunity to learn about Impact.”
Imani Minor, a Weinberg sophomore, came up with the idea after
talking with her brother, who attends the University of Notre Dame,
where a similar expo was held. In addition, she said she is part of a
psychology lab that studied black hair and its importance in young
women’s lives.
Minor said she usually goes to Howard Beauty Supply in south
Evanston to get products. However, the process of reaching out to local
businesses made her realize there were salons across the city catering
to black hair. While black students often use group chats or online
forums to share advice and recommendations, Minor said sometimes those
spaces don’t hold all the answers.
McCormick junior Lawan Aladefa heard about the expo through mutual
friends and the Facebook event. He picked up new products to try out and
got information from booths like Studio SLK and Curls and Company —
places he had never visited because he does his hair by himself.
He said it was hard to name the potential options for black students
to go to in Evanston, partially because the businesses are
underpublicized, which is why exposure is so crucial. He said in the
future, it would also be nice to show examples a little farther out, in
nearby places like Rogers Park or Skokie. However, he did learn about
new stores and salons to potentially visit in the future.
“Knowing that there’s places that I could go if I wanted, say, if I
got a big interview, and I want to make sure that fade’s icy, get those
curls right,” Aladefa said. “It would mean I know there are places
around I could go to.”
Aladefa also said the lack of publicity and knowledge about products
and businesses who specialize in black hair made the event necessary.
“It’s good to have an event like this where you can know there’s
some relatively close by,” Aladefa said. “Just to let people know these
resources are available because this is a facet of black/POC culture. If
other people can have easy access, we should be able to, at the very
least, know.”
The Wall