Afro Futurism by Ayesha Casely-Hayford

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About Afro Archives

Afro Archives explores heritage and identity within UK society. It investigates images of black women through promotion of self-expression and confidence to be who we naturally are. This project seeks to promote and celebrate afro hair by having inclusive discussions about hair and hair-related experiences with people of all ages, backgrounds, cultures and creeds.

Big Thanks to Wandsworth Radio, in Battersea, for hosting us. Wandsworth Radio is a local Community Radio Station. It covers Battersea, Putney, Balham, Southfields, Earlsfield, Wandsworth Town, Roehampton and Tooting. The Station exists to celebrate the borough’s greatness. “Over 300,000 people call Wandsworth home and they deserve a community radio service providing local news and other content showcasing the people who live here”.

Creator Ayesha Casely-Hayford is an actress, award-winning voice artist and employment lawyer of Ghanian descent, born in London and raised in Kent. With her roots in law, specialising in discrimination, and as former chair of the board of trustees for The Act For Change Project, a charity campaigning for greater diversity in the arts, she is uniquely positioned to see the social, performative and legal issues facing black women in the UK today.

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Show One Transcript 2 March 2018 Read More: https://ayeshacasely-hayford.com/wandsworth-radio/ Listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/ayeshacaselyhayford/show-one-afro-archives-020318/

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKIJpUA_vJKP3sk3v1AFtfJodDgmSCbez

Transcript:

Hi, I’m Ayesha and this is my first live show on Wandsworth Radio, in the world, on planet Earth. Thank you for joining me!

Prologue This is Wandsworth Radio and I’m Ayesha Casely-Hayford. I’m a lawyer and actress and I was born here in Battersea. Welcome to my show all about HAIR. We’ve called it Afro Archives. This is the title of my afro hair project which I’ll be sharing all about in this show. But Today’s episode is titled: “ I am Afro Futurism”. We’re going to look at hair through the context of ...have you clocked it…The Black Panther of course! No spoilers though. We’ll discuss some West African philosophy in connection to Afro-Futurism. And as I’ve said, I’ll also be giving an introduction to my project Afro Archives, which will provide the framework for my shows here on Wandsworth Radio. © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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Stay tuned.

[Song: “Cranes In The Sky” Solange]

Act I: The birth of Afro Archives That was Solange with Cranes In the Sky from her seminal album “A Seat At The Table”. I’m Ayesha Casely-Hayford. And this is Afro Archives on Wandsworth Radio. The birth of Afro Archives. A bright summer morning in London. I’m on the Northern Line tube heading from Brixton to Hampstead Heath for a film shoot. The shoot is for the Young Women’s Trust, which is an organisation that supports and represents over one million women aged 16 to 30 trapped by low pay or no pay and facing a life of poverty. We are filming on the heath, and the weather is gorgeous. I reach my stop, and I spot a young woman wearing a similar outfit to mine: trainers, leggings non-logo sports top (my character profile is a jogger) I have a hunch she and I are heading in the same direction, with mutual purpose. She clocks me too, a knowing smile, and we fall into step on the way to our filming meeting point. This was in 2015 and that young woman was actress Ketorah Williams. That day, I had my hair in long box braids and Ketorah was wearing a shoulder-length weave, tied at the back into a ponytail. Once on the heath, it was confirmed that Ketorah and I were featuring together as joggers on the heath. We had a couple of lines. In addition to us, there was one other young black woman involved in the shoot. By mid-morning Ketorah and I had gravitated towards her. The third black woman was actress Verona Rose. That particular © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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day, Verona was wearing a long-flowing home made wig. Verona was not featuring with Ketorah and I, SHE had a more prominent role AND more speaking lines. We pretty much immediately we got chatting about our hair. We joked between us that Verona had more lines because of her hair. We were having jokes. There are of course a plethora of reasons for why we were each in the parts we were. Verona, Ketorah and I are very different to each other, and the Young Women’s Trust’s short film is beautiful and inclusive - but our conversation on our hair, lasted a good hour and was noisy. A month later, I invited Verona and Ketorah over to my place to talk about hair more. Were our hair choices affecting the acting parts we were getting? This is how my hair project Afro Archives was born. Now Afro Archives has become a home for collecting stories on the experience of women with afrotextured hair. It works by comparing the relationships people from all different cultures, ethnicities, ages and gender have with their hair in order to bring out the singular afro hair journey experience. Now here we are in Wandsworth with the radio edition. Afro Archives on Air.

[Song: “Girl on Fire” Alicia Keys]

Alicia Keys, Girl on Fire. We’re here on Wandsworth Radio. I’m Ayesha Casely-Hayford and we’re discussing hair, which is the theme and topic of my show, Afro Archives. © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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When I was 12 years old I decided to put chemicals in my hair to make my natural afro hair straight. Why did I do that? Because I wanted to look like everyone else around me. Common for a teenager, right? The power of images around us. Could I ever achieve what I was striving for? Can I ever have long blonde hair, that blows in the wind? How much do I have to spend to achieve that? How deep are those chemicals going to go? I can’t go much further in this conversation without referencing Chris Rock’s film “Good Hair”. “Good hair” is all about the styling industry for black women, and images of what is considered acceptable and desirable for black women’s hair. My main hair decisions at that time were guided by Michelle Gayle. I had no idea until I was older that her hair may have been a weave and that when I saw her on TV her hairstyle was not something I could naturally achieve. I feel a fool, but give myself a break when I ask, when as a child did I see a main love interest or leading lady in mainstream media with a TWA? (that’s a Teeny Weeny Afro). If I had, would I have felt more comfortable and empowered with my own natural hair? To understand my decision to chemically relax my hair, I realise that I have to go back and reflect. I see now that I was not coming from a place of afro power.

[Song: “Got Til It’s Gone” Janet Jackson] [Insert: Uberta Casely-Hayford on Sakofa]

Act II: Sankofa That was my mama. And before that, it was of course Janet Jackson, with “Got Till it’s gone” 1997. I brought my mum in because I wanted to take us back to some roots. The sentence my mama delivered in the Akan language, means “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten”. © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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Mama also used the word Sankofa, which means “go back and get it”. One of the ways Sankofa is represented symbolically is by the Sankofa bird, which is a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back. In short, it’s saying the past is always with us. From this West African philosophy we can now set the scene for discussing afro-futurism.

[Song: “RESPECT” Aretha Franklin]

This is Wandsworth Radio. That was Aretha Franklin. RESPECT. I’m Ayesha Casely-Hayford and we’re discussing hair, which is the theme and topic of my show, Afro Archives.

Act III: Black Panther After scrolling the internet for a definition of Afro-futurism that I thought was most clear and succinct, I’ve chosen one I found in the Huff Post by guest writer Jamie Broadnax. In her article on 16th February 2018 titled “what the heck is Afro-futurism?” Ms Broadnax says: “Afro-futurism is the reimagining of a future filled with arts, science and technology seen through a black lens.”

Now this is the key bit, Ms Broadnax goes on to explain that “…Afro-futurism…is steeped in ancient African traditions and black identity. A narrative that simply features a black character in a futuristic world is not enough. To be AFRO-futurism, it must be © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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rooted in AND unapologetically celebrate the uniqueness and innovation of black culture.”

There is therefore a synchronicity between the past and the future. Which is why I was talking about the West African Sankofa bird symbolism.

For those just joining us we discussed the Sankofa bird earlier, which is an Akan symbol of a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back. It represents the idea that the past is always with us. We go back and it. Afro-Futurism is also about the reverence for ancestors, and ancient societies, it is active celebration of movements in history that FOUGHT against the de-huminsation of people of colour through POWER systems. The afro hair debate comes into all of this because when we talk about the natural hair movement, it is within the context of afro hair and negative images of natural hair in mainstream media. I am treating my decision to stop relaxing my hair and go natural with my afro, as a going back to my get my past, my culture, my heritage. [Song: “Everything is Everything” Lauryn Hill]

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This is Wandsworth Radio. Thank you Lauryn Hill, raising us up with “Everything is Everything”.

I’m Ayesha Casely-Hayford and we’re discussing hair, which is the theme and topic of my show Afro Archives. We’ve discussed Sonkofa, West African symbolism that the past is always with us, and Afro-Futurism and how it’s not just about the future through a black lens but also about bringing the past, and ancient African cultures, into the future. And now, I’m going to link this all to the Black Panther.

Black Panther, the character, claims the title of the first superhero of African descent in mainstream American comics. Black Panther, the film, is part of a critical debate on the importance of black people in science fiction. Why? Well, the presence of black people in science fiction is significant because it is a way of feeling hope. The converse absence lends to a narrative that only bad things happen to black people, that there is no future, right? This is one of the many reasons why Black Panther hitting our cinemas in 2018 is such a mega deal. In Black Panther, you can track a whole independent afro hair storyline, a whole load of afro hair possibilities. I won’t say anything further on the film than that. as I promised no spoilers here on Wandsworth Radio, so go watch it and watch it again if you’ve only been once! (It’s a fiver at Peckham Multiplex). What I CAN say though is that the afro hairstyling in Black Panther is on fleck. Just as black people in science fiction is hope, the presence of afro-textured hair in mainstream media speaks to black people’s existence and what natural afro hair means, it presents © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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possibilities in a positive way, it means I am what I am. This is me, and just as I am, I rock. Every positive image challenges stereotypes and negative images. We have taken the past and informed the future, we are our ancestors wildest dreams. By expressing myself today with natural hair and all it’s possibilities, I AM AFRO-FUTURISM.

[Song: “Say Yes” Floetry]

Act IV: T.G.I.F. That was Floetry, with “Say Yes”. As my show begins draws to an end and as it is a Friday, I want to introduce a feature my T.G.I.F. “That Girl is Fine” my choice of an en pointe afro hair style in the media.

This week’s T.G.I.F. choice is taken from Refinery 29 UK, the fashion city guide which focuses on young women. Refinery 29 UK did a recent article titled “Celebrating The Art Form of African Hair Threading”. The collaborative authors are multi-award winning afro hair stylist Charlotte Mensah, my cousin fashion guru Alice Casely-Hayford, and photographer Lily Bertrand Webb. In the article, three young women of colour model their hair using the threading technique. Once again, some past into the future. Hair threading is done using extra strong cotton, wool, yarn or nylon around sections of hair. It’s a traditional West African technique, and one I had done on my hair when I was a child. Charlotte Mensah created three-dimensional styles for her models and I’m going to describe those done on my name sake, model Ayesha McMahon, she is my T.G.I.F of the week. Ayesha has been photographed by Lily Bertrand-Webb. There are two styles shown in the article. They feel futuristic. They are sincerely bold.

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In the first picture Ayesha’s head is covered in six evenly spread stand alone circles, or loops. The six giant loops stand up all around her head. It looks like I could put my hand through the middle of each hair loop and wiggle my fingers. It looks fun and exciting. The threading allows the hair to be held solid in a circle shape. Black thread has been used. To create the look Ayesha’s head is divided into six sections. In the front, there are three sections one on the left one at the top of the head and one on the right. Then there are two sections at the back, and one in the middle at the crown of the head. Each section of hair is gathered into a pony tail, bound and wrapped at the bottom with the black thread to form a short tubular length away from the head before the thread is wrapped fully around the full length of Ayesha’s hair and then the thread bound hair length is folded into a circle shape, and moulded to stand independently.

Ayesha’s second style is with some colour. A gold thread has been used. The style feels serene and gentle, yet playful. It also feels celestial. Ayesha’s head is again divided into sections a large section in the middle at the crown, surrounded in a circle by six smaller sections all around Ayesha’s head. This time the gold thread is binding her hair down. It also does not cover her hair completely. It starts totally golden at the top stretching down for about 3 to 4 inches, then Ayesha’s hair is exposed for about 3 to 4 inches, then there is a length of more gold thread, then more exposed hair loose undefined afro at the ends. Where Ayesha’s hair is exposed in the middle without thread it looks like the hair is twisted. Twisting is where the hair is split into two and plaited, or wrapped © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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around itself and the effect is little mounds, like bumps, or waves of shaped hair. Her hair hangs down, and the gold thread is beautiful giving a royal impression contrasting against her brown hair. Finally a single gold thread is left to extend from each section hanging down Ayesha’s body past the ends of her hair. A Golden Crowning Glory. [Song: “I am not my Hair” by India Arie:]

This is Wandsworth Radio. That was India Arie featuring Akon with “I am not my hair.”

I’m Ayesha Casely-Hayford and we’ve been discussing hair, which is the theme and topic of my show, Afro Archives. I’ve just been describing an awesome, bold futuristic hairstyle created by Award winning afro hairstylist Charlotte Mensah on model Ayesha McMahon for Refinery29 UK, Ayesha is my week’s T.G.I.F. “That Girl Is Fine”.

Ayesha McMahon says: “My hair is a part of me. Not only in the physical, literal sense but as an extension of myself. It’s something I have to take care of, look after and love. I © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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could talk all day about my hair as if it’s another person, the love-hate relationship, when one of us doesn’t co-operate and when at times we just want to part ways. I love when it can illustrate my mood and be as big or as bold as I want. The intricacy and skill of hair styling (especially of afro hair) is heavily underrated, and there’s so much creativity within it…”

[Song: “I’m Coming Out” Diana Ross]

This is Wandsworth Radio. That was Diana Ross with “I’m coming out”. I’m Ayesha Casely-Hayford and we’ve been discussing hair, on my new show Afro Archives. Join me at the same time and place next week, Friday 3pm to 4pm on Wandsworth Radio for more Afro Archives where we’ll be taking a look at amongst other things, the context of the backlash against Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson’s decision to wear braids. Thank you so much for listening. You’ve also been enjoying background sounds from Lo-Wu, Twofold and Translunar. Check us out online for more details. Next up is: George Talbot with “Evening Wandsworth”.

Bed Music: Intro & Prologue “Faaji” from Lo-Wu https://soundcloud.com/lowusounds Act 1 The Birth of Afro Archives: “Mood” (w/Kiefer) from Lo-Wu © 2018 Ayesha Casely-Hayford Photo credits: Africa Fashion & Robbie Spotswood

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Act 2 Sankofa: “Faaji” from Lo-Wu Act 3 Black Panther: “Deep Space Traveller” from Translunar https://soundcloud.com/ translunar and “Reverence” by Twofold https://soundcloud.com/twofold/reverence Act 4 T.G.I.F: “Do you?” from Lo-Wu End “Faaji” from Lo-Wu

References & Links:

Broadnax, Jamie Huff Post “What The Heck is Afrofuturism?” (16/02/2018) 09.08am https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-broadnax-afrofuturism-blackpanther_us_5a85f1b9e4b004fc31903b95 [accessed 22.02.18] Bertrand-Webb, Lily; Casely-Hayford, Alice; and Mensah, Charlotte Refinery29UK “Celebrating The Art Form of African Hair Threading” (15/02/2018) https:// www.refinery29.uk/2018/02/190254/african-hair-threading-shoot-charlotte-mensah? utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitter_share [accessed 16.02.18]