While freedom was legally attained after the Emancipation Proclamation, the struggle to reclaim one's identity was a journey of its own. In the early 1900s, Black women straightened their hair with hot metal combs to assimilate into white society. This act of assimilation required the suppression of their true selves, creating a dual consciousness within the Black community. Women were supposed to be free, yet their true identities remained enslaved.
 
24x36 Limited Edition Print - Only 33 Will Be Printed