Photo: OWN
“I feel like in our culture, the narrative has sold us a lie about who we are that is often about struggle, and pain and hardship,” Ross tells PEOPLE. “And thatisa part of the experience, but as Black women, there’s also so much joy, and so much beauty and so much celebration with our hair.”
In an effort to uplift the voices of Black women and “allow the joy to come forward,” Ross — alongside fellow executive producersMichaela angela DavisandOprah Winfrey— has createdThe Hair Tales,a docuseries celebrating Black women and their individual hair experiences.
“For me, the intention was for it to be intimate and for it to feel like a sacred space where we could contextualize our humanity and our legacy and so much of what we experience that never gets space to be held together,” Ross tells PEOPLE. “It’s a love letter to black women. A show that centered us in our own narrative that was about us, but for everyone. And that really allowed us space to explore not only with each other, but in the fullness of who we are.”
In each episode,TheHigh Noteactress speaks candidly with celebrity guest stars —Oprah Winfrey, actressesIssa RaeandMarsai Martin, singersChloe Baileyand Chika, and congresswomanAyanna Pressley— about their personal hair journey while discussing the culture of Black hair. The series also features an honest look at broader societal and historic themes as they relate to Black women and their hair.
OWN
As the founder and CEO of haircare linePattern Beauty, Ross is often vocal about her own love for her hair. Although she struggled gaining a relationship with her hair as a teenager, she says “society tells me, as a Black woman, that my identity is wrapped up in my hair.”
And while she now has immense"pride" in her curls, Ross explains that she knows she’s “more than my hair.”
Whether she’s rocking a wash-and-go, a slicked back bun, or a lavish statement hairstyle, the entrepreneur admits that her hair is simply an “expression of who I am” that makes her feel beautiful.
“My beauty is inextricably tied to my hair,” Ross says. “I heard in apodcast, a poet Natachi Mez said, ‘Like hair, we be conditioned.’ And it really moved me because I’m hoping thatThe Hair Talesis part of the reconditioning of how we have been taught to think of our hair, how we have been taught to think of our beauty.”
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“Issa [Rae] used the term ‘my hair believer,’ and I thought that was one of the most beautiful expressions for those people that have helped you to love your hair,” Ross continues. “And I feel like we all have hair believers. So that really moved me and I will take that with me from the series.”
Ross tells PEOPLE thatThe Hair Talesisn’t just conversations about hair but how it influences how Black women navigate the world — something she says is important for everyone to understand.
“I hope that this show allows Black women to see ourselves and also allows a deeper understanding and respect of us as Black women, for others that get to join,” she adds.
The Hair Tales, a six-part series, premieres on October 22 on OWN and Hulu.
source: people.com
