Queens: Portraits of Black Women and their Fabulous Hair

Crowns photographer Michael Cunningham and author and journalist George Alexander have captured the marvelous trinity of black women, hair, and beauty salons in the glorious Queens: Portraits of Black Women and Their Fabulous Hair.

Angela Garner says that “The beauty salon is the one great thing we get to share as African American women. It’s therapeutic.” Tisch Sims says that wearing fantasy hair makes her feel “like a goddess, a queen.”

From the afro to the ponytail to dreadlocks to braids to relaxed hair to fantasy hair; from “good hair” to bad hair days, in this stunningly designed book black women from the United States, Africa, and London explore the fascination with hair and beauty that has long been a cherished part of African American culture.

In fifty gorgeous photographs accompanied by vivid, personal narratives, Queens, by turns moving and funny, is the ultimate all-occasion gift book, perfect for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Mother’s Day, and birthdays.

• Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats
• Dreads
• Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present
• Black: A Celebration of a Culture
• Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50
• I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America
• Dark Girls
• Unseen: Unpublished Black History from the New York Times Photo Archives
• Vintage Black Glamour
• Black Girls Rock!: Owning Our Magic. Rocking Our Truth.