<I>Untitled (Wigs Parisian protest)</I>
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1963; printed 2018
name: label: Photograph by
content: Kwame Brathwaite, American, 1938 - 2023
label: Subject of
content: Helene Nomsa Brath, American, born 1942
label: Subject of
content: Wigs Parisian, American
label: Subject of
content: African Jazz-Arts Society and Studios, American, founded 1956
notes: label: Description
content: A black-and-white photograph of Grandassa model Nomsa Brath protesting in front of the Wigs Parisian store front on 125th Street in Harlem, New York. Brath's hair is cropped into a short afro style and she is wearing a white, sleeveless, knee length dress, black high heels, and sunglasses. She is also wearing a protest placard over her torso that reads [NATURAL···YES! WIGS···NO] above a cartoon illustration of two women, one with natural hair styled into a top knot and the other wearing a blonde wig. The cartoon woman with the natural hairstyle has her eyes closed and is holding out her hand in a stop signal towards the woman wearing the wig. To the right of Brath is another female protester wearing a placard that reads [DON’T BE A / JACKASS… / BE / NATURAL!] above an illustration of two women and a donkey. On the far right is a third female protester. Her partially visible placard reads [[---?]iSFiTS / [[---?]nted]. Two men are also standing on the right on either side of the protesters and a woman in a floral skirt stands in front of the doorway of the store, smoking a cigarette. The storefront is white with a retracted, black awning and a sign above with cursive black text that reads [[Wi]gs / Parisian]. The storefront entrance is lined with a glass window display. The white walls of the display case's interior is decorated with illustrations of wigs. In the left foreground is a parking meter. There are no marks or inscriptions, front or back.
place: label: Place captured
content: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Associations and institutions
label: Topic
content: Beauty culture
label: Topic
content: Black power
label: Topic
content: Business
label: Topic
content: Fashion
label: Topic
content: Hair
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Race discrimination
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
label: Movement
content: Black is Beautiful
label: Movement
content: BAM (Black Arts Movement 1965-1976)
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.26.4
objectType: label: Type
content: portraits
label: Type
content: inkjet prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Courtesy of the Kwame Brathwaite Archive & Philip Martin Gallery, © Kwame Brathwaite
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: pigment on paper (fiber product)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 15 × 15 in. (38.1 × 38.1 cm)