National Museum of African American History and Culture

Errata - Jan 2 1:45 PM EST: In a previous version, the image was inconsistent with the copy-able text. The image has been fixed.

The social meaning encoded into braids’ multiple layers brings with it centuries of accumulated information, beliefs, and practices. Braiding operates as a bridge spanning the distance between the past, present, and future. It creates a tangible, material thread connecting people often separated by thousands of miles and hundreds of years.

Emma Dabiri, Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture

Copy-able Text

d	i	d	i	d	i
d	y	d	y	d	y
o	u	o	u	o	u
k	n	k	n	k	n
o	w	o	w	o	w

c	o	o	t	i	h	n	h	a
r	n	n	e	p	d	t	u	r
c	o	r	i	l	a	o	a	r
i	e	w	n	n	e	h	w	l
g	n	y	u	q	g	i	a	s
o	i	s	d	e	u	e	r	i
i	u	r	s	o	e	s	v	a
u	n	h	d	h	i	s	o	e
a	i	d	t	i	a	n	i	c
i	v	d	e	a	r	l	t	a
n	i	e	c	n	g	o	m	e
f	y	o	a	o	d	e	v	e
r	i	u	i	i	n	m	n	e
b	a	n	g	s	n	n	t	s
i	i	h	s	d	d	a	n	e
e	s	l	t	t	t	r	m	e
i	n	h	a	b	a	e	c	e
e	w	o	r	r	k	o	r	b
a	d	r	w	t	w	n	r	o
t	s	b	y	l	w	h	a	d
r	t	f	i	e	l	e	o	i
s	a	n	v	t	o	r	r	e