Larry posted the video on his social media, which shows Simone flaunting her natural hair and advocating for African women to stay true to themselves.
“For black women, I feel like natural hair symbolizes beauty and acceptance. This is how our hair grows from our scalps, we don’t need to manipulate it. I feel like when our hair is natural, it’s the truest form of ourselves,†said Simone.
The New York-based Kenyan filmmaker, Philemon Makini or Phil, made the film for BBC with Larry interviewing Simone.
Phil was born and raised in Nairobi but later relocated to the USA, where he is pursuing his career as a cinematographer.
When it is straight, Simone’s hair goes all the way up to her waist, while its circumference is nearly 1.5 meters in its raw afro form.
Simone said her hair was a great responsibility as maintaining it takes hard work despite adding that her routine was pretty simple.
In a world that has not fully accepted the black culture, the 32-year old fashion designer and finance worker says the corporate world has not entirely accepted her afro as a professional look.
“Professionalism for me doesn’t come from hair. It comes from what you know, your knowledge. What is inside your head not on it,†she further asserted.
The film is pushing Simone to a global audience who were inspired by her commitment to her natural African self.
“My hair is so important to me because it holds a lot of my heritage. It’s a way for me to connect with my ancestors. Just being a black woman and knowing that people before me have worn their hair like this as such a symbol of pride is so important to me,†she told Larry during their interview.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM
