Head Held High

Janus was the Roman god of doorways and transitions. As the ultimate gatekeeper he is depicted as having one face looking forward and another looking backwards. January as the first month of a new year was thusly named as a month to look back on prior months and to look forward to the months ahead. But we can’t forget about February, which was also added to the Roman calendar at the same time to give us 12 months as opposed to a year made up of 10 months and 304 days(time has clearly been relative for a long time y’all). Indeed, I kind of think of them as melding together, and February is often when I do the most reckoning between past and future goals. Black History Month is the shortest month says who?

After threading up my hair all January, I jokingly thought that the fresh bindings looked like facial profiles, one looking ahead and the other behind. It seemed like a fitting post for January, but it was a full and hard month. Rocking this hairdoo was a reminder to walk with my head held high no matter what others thought of the lewk. The great thing about NYC is that people don’t really bat an eye and that I work in an environment where the #CROWNlaw is welcomed. But growing up the child of African immigrants in this country meant that rocking this hairdoo as a kid would also come with a fair amount of ridicule coupled with embarrassment and shame. I’m so proud that I’ve come far enough that even though the look allows for unique shapes that play with positive + negative space a la Calder or Miro works of art, that my crown doesn’t have to be a ‘negative (head) space’ based on how I look. This January has been especially hard to feel positive, but the lewk has been a point of pride. January has never really been a month that I’ve given much thought to or hyped up. In fact it’s December and February by which I thread through past nostalgias and future goals...

December through February for most of my life has largely been a time of reflection thinking back on happier last moments together as a family (unbeknownst) before a Valentine’s Day when our lives forever changed with the passing of my father. Without intending to and even when new joyful memory-making is at peak, something of that moment in time always lingers. Knowing that so many families around the world are going through upheaval, as well as a myriad of other worries, has definitely added to the weight of this time of year.

The isolation of this pandemic year has especially hard  despite best efforts to spend as much time with loved ones whether irl or virtually. Sometimes it just be like that. I’m getting help and support and in the meantime, WoBusu has been a welcome creative tool for expression. Can’t wait to keep it going and to share new project/wares throughout the month. With February here now, it’s as much a time of love and light and new beginnings.