Inspiration materialized as the Naturally Isis Hair Parade on Saturday, a celebration of beauty through empowerment. Musicians, artists, dancers and a shoulder-lifted Erykah Badu filled out the procession to pay homage to a cultural movement and the local icon responsible for nurturing it forward, Isis Brantley.
Brantley battled for, and eventually won, the right to perform natural hair techniques without a full cosmetology license -- claiming the content of which is in direct opposition to the principles of natural hair, which targets nutrition and pride rather than heavy chemicals designed to alter the shape and texture of hair's intrinsic beauty. She also argued that an unnecessary amount of time and credit hours that did not pertain to the subject were keeping women from learning the trade and preserving their heritage.
She was arrested for her vision.
This parade was the third for the Naturally Isis Project and it ended in a festival at Pan-African Connection where messages of encouragement were shouted through microphones, resonating throughout Fair Park and South Dallas.
Photographer (and Dallas Best-Of nominee) Danny Hurley was there to translate the scene through stills, and boy are they stunning. We picked our ten favorites, and you'll want to visit the entire slideshow here.
See Also: Scenes from the Natural Hair Parade
See Also: Her Husband and Partner is Gone, but Pan-African Connection's Akwete Tyehimba Keeps Going
