Curlfest 2018, Black Beauty and Culture

Brooklyn, NEW YORK – Thousands of afros, braids and natural hairstyles flooded
Prospect Park for the annual Curlfest.
The fifth annual event at Prospect Park was jam-packed with fashion vendors,
games and music with 25,000 estimated attendees. Amongst those in attendance
were rapper Ace Hood, renowned designer Dapper Dan and Brooklyn Borough President
Eric L. Adams.
Writer/activist Michaela Angela Davis, who attended this year’s event, nicknamed
the festival “black girl heaven.”
Curly Girl Collective is the brand behind the festival with an initiative to
disrupt the unheard voice of women of color in the beauty industry.
“There has been a void in our voice…and together we’re saying we are here, we
are enough,” Curlfest co-founder, Gia Lowe said.
Davis, who has been following the organization for a few years, said
that the organization “really exemplifies what sisterhood can do.”
Amongst the performers were students from the Brooklyn United Music and Arts program.
Ty Brown, the director for the organization, brought more than a dozen of his students
to perform, including a marching band and dancers.
“This event shows how amazing we are as a people,” Brown said.
Andre Easton, who attended the festival with his wife and son, began attending the
festival since its inception. He credits the festival’s positive energy for the
consistent growth and plans to continue coming.
“It’s important for my son to be surrounded by Black women in a natural setting…
loving themselves and embracing in fellowship,” Easton said.
Davis, former editor at ESSENCE and VIBE Magazine, shared some advice for any woman
of color hesitate about embracing their natural hair in a corporate setting.
“Understand the culture and have a strategy for your career…You don’t have to change
people’s hearts and minds your first job,” Davis said.