For Us By Us. The Marcus Garvey Vision for Natural Hair Businesses

Marcus Garvey was one of the most important African American visionary leaders of our time. His quote "remove the kinks from your mind not your hair". Has a deep meaning for fashion dreads & the collective self-esteem of our people. From Marcus, I was inspired to create a  "For us By Us"  Natural Hair Brand that frees the black consumer from the cycle of paying to look like what were not.

Garvey believed that white society would never accept black Americans as equals. Therefore, he called for the separate self-development of African Americans within the United States.

Garvey set up many small black-owned businesses such as restaurants, groceries, a publishing house, and even a toy company that made black dolls. Garvey’s goal was to create a separate economy and society run for and by African Americans.

He founded his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914.  In 1919, he formed the Black Star Line, the first black-owned shipping company in the United States.

What does Garvey have to do with The Natural Hair Movement? 

Both Malcolm and Marcus we're pointing us to the idea that our advancement as a people must be examined from the perspective of the self-concept.
It was also the great Marcus Garvey who said that " if we have no confidence in self you are twice defeated in the race of life."

The conversation about what we should look like often begins with the same dialogue of not knowing who we really are.

Choosing the Name "Khinky" was a very personal and intentional.  
I believe , that an area that is often overlooked in the dialogue of Black identity , is the psychology of racism and the impact that cultural pluralism has had on the collective self-esteem of our people. People with melanated skin. 

My goal is to pro remote healing & self actualization use my brand to help re- humanize the concept of black & brown beauty and right to exist in our God given form.so I decided to name my brand Khinky.

I had an idea to use the booming natural hair dialogue which really began taking momentum again in 2009 (after the release of Chris Rock's movie "Good Hair".)

The hair industry never thought that hair extensions that actually looked like Afro textured hair would be marketable

What Garvey Stood For: 

Marcus Garvey was born in Jamaica in 1887. He  established his UNIA in New York City, opened a restaurant, and started a newspaper.

UNIA stressed racial pride and self-improvement, much like the views of educator Booker T. Washington, whom Garvey admired. Garvey, however, had greater international ambitions, including the development of worldwide black-owned industries and shipping lines. He also called for the end of white colonial rule in Africa.

At the invitation of Washington, Garvey traveled to the United States in 1916. 

Although his vision for black separatism and “back to Africa” never caught on with most African Americans, and he and his spectacular movement still lives on today with growing Black Minority owned business , Land access & inclusion , Food Justice, Prison Reform, Education opportunities,  investment groups and so on. 

From Black Wall Street , to FUBU  Iconic  90's Hip Hip hop fashion brand to the black farmer movements of today.... 

Garvey's  idea of " FOR US BY US will always live on..... We at Khinky.com will do what we can to keep the torch burning for natural hair. 

 Sources: 

shop.khinky.com

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garvey-biography/

https://www.crf-usa.org/black-history-month/marcus-garvey

https://www.farmingwhileblack.org/

https://fubu.com/

https://www.oprah.com/entertainment/chris-rocks-good-hair-documentary/all

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/natural-hair-industry-history-evolution