The Black Recharge Hair Show, presented by Change Today, Change Tomorrow, occurred on Feb. 28, 2025. Maya White (Black) is a cultural worker, yoga teacher, and consultant based in Louisville, Kentucky, who offered to provide post-event coverage. Read on for the history of The Black Recharge Hair Show, what the event had in store, and testimonials from attendees. To learn more about Maya and her work, visit her website https://www.harveyandhurston.com/ or follow her on Instagram @mayab1ack.
Change Today, Change Tomorrow (CTCT) is a Black-women-led food justice movement organization known for its consistent community offerings of free groceries, community-led summits, and myth-busting narratives of the West End of Louisville. CTCT is on top of its game, eradicating barriers in our city with an assertive energy that loves Black people enough by offering alternative solutions to meet direct needs. The last day of Black History Month, CTCT hosts a non-food-related event that allows the organization to let its hair down and release joy, communion, and pride. This event is known as The Black Recharge.
Beginning in 2021, The Black Recharge has held a theme of events that are joyous and audaciously being and living out loud—Black and proud. The first event was a fashion show. The year 2022 centered on food and recipe preservation, and 2023 was a nostalgic B*A*P*S brunch. The organization paused in 2024. The pause of 2024 allowed for the imagination of 2025’s theme to thrive! Taylor Ryan shares how a Hair Show became the theme for 2025. She states, “Barbershop and nail culture is a shared culture, and that’s where black folks get our news. I think the black barbershop is a pinnacle and a staple in the black community, and it serves its purpose not only for your hygienic needs but also as a communal gathering space to just catch up and fellowship with people…”
On February 28, 2025, CTCT, their partner SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective a Southern-based, national membership organization, and a collaboration of community members and sponsors created a well-rounded scope of the political importance and essence of Black hair, community health, and justice.
Black hair shows are Black history. Only a few films of our time capture the Black hair show and hair salon cultures, such as Beauty Shop starring Queen Latifah, HairShow starring Monique, and even the documentary Good Hair narrated by Chris Rock. Black hair shows like International Bronner Brothers Beauty Show have a 77-year legacy that has held over 35,00 attendees, elevated Black entrepreneurship, workshops for health care, and financial literacy.
Can you picture it on a local scale? An intimate venue full of jewel tones, art, and shades of brown. Black folks across the spectrum of gender, age, hue, and industry. Attendees had options to drop into many different activations centering a healthy hair industry that evening with a catered dinner, panel discussions, selfie stations, vendors, and raffles!
The intersection of politics, mental health, and hair was discussed by experts for a panel called Hair Therapy, Culture and Local Hair Policy. The panelists, Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka and Tanita Washington were moderated by SisterSong’s reproductive justice coordinator, Dr. AnaNecia Williams. The panel talked about the salon as a haven for Black people, while capitalist institutions have interfered with the products and policies of Black beauty culture. Dr. Afiya is known to coin the practice “PsychoHairapy” which combines hair care with therapy to promote psychological well-being. Tanita Washington spoke about how hair care is more than aesthetics but trust, health, and belonging. The attacks on Black hair culture have become a laundry list, from legislation not passing the Crown Act to large corporations choosing profit over people applying toxic cancerous chemicals in specifically Black hair products. The importance of the panel was bringing awareness to the attacks but also the solutions to preserve our bodies through healing and still looking good. The solutions were in the room that night, as local beauty vendors like Unique Essentials, Jade Vines Natural Hair Care, LuxsbyJane, and Lavish Life Luxury Hair Boutique set up shop for their products.
“When your sister is your hairdresser, you need no mirror” – Ghanaian proverb.
I had the chance to talk to a couple of models and hair stylists to reel in what recharges them and how the hair industry and culture have touched their lives. From self-exploration in childhood to managing mental health as an adult, the range of how hair heals and recharges Black people was a reminder of how important it is to preserve and celebrate this culture.
“I’ve done so many things; I was curly before, then I loc’d my hair up. Then I cut it all off and let it grow back out again. I think the thing that recharges me the most is coloring my hair,” says Kabira Yakini. Kabira spoke about how cutting her hair was a way to cope with her mental health a few years ago. The feeling of cutting her hair brought a sense of control and release. The practice of managing the versatility of her hair is a practice of recharging her spirit.
Chance thee Barber reminisced about a similar story about cutting her hair as a coming-of-age moment. She says, “After my first haircut when I turned 18, it was like coming into adulthood… like a new person. It was like my childish ways left, and now I got this grown haircut. I thought my barber was so cool, I wanted to be like him.” Chance thee Barber was the Grand Prize winner in the “Old School, New School” competition, taking home $500 after showcasing a father and son haircut duo.
Effortlessly Dupree spoke about how he would learn to style his hair at a young age because no one could quite do what he’d imagine for his style. From sitting and talking with him, his blonde and blue waves and designed nails affirmed this creative energy. Dupree shares, “I started doing my mother’s Barbie doll heads in the attic, and I would style them with some updos or some braids. That’s when I started to do plaits, and then when my hair got longer, I’d do different styles.”
Times like today require more recharge. Those of us who are Black, LGBTQ+, workers in the service, non-profit, and entrepreneur industries, and everyone in between, are facing an even deeper struggle. Recent executive orders from The White House target diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, transgender human rights and progress, and non-profit funding for LGBTQ+ and immigration protection. We are being called to fight for justice and share resources amongst each other, as our vulnerability grows. One thing I know is that joy and restoration will save us some. Not only were we informed and supplied with beauty products and political information, but we were entertained. Some comedic relief with Kayla Green, live art from Ashya Watkins, a singing cover performance of India Arie’s “I am Not My Hair” by Chanson Calhoun, and Robin G’s poetry all in one night! Letting our hair down, laughing, smelling, and looking fabulous is a catalyst for our struggle. We don’t choose the hard times we experience, so we shouldn’t spend every living moment protesting and fighting about those hard times.
The Black Recharge was a reminder that we deserve to be informed yet entertained, joyful, and restored. Let’s look to organizations like Change Today, Change Tomorrow, and SisterSong as models of organizing our abundance as a community. CTCT’s intentions of The Black Recharge were to “bring the community together with no secret or real agenda just to be in fellowship and be connected” (Ryan) and they did just that.
Photography by TNG Multimedia.
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 6, 2025.