Originally Posted by Star Ledger

When Carolivia Herron was growing up in Washington, D.C., in the early'50s, all her fellow African-American playmates had their hair straightened at a local beauty parlor for one dollar.

Herron's hair was so tightly curled -- so nappy -- she had to travel across town to have it straightened by a special beautician who charged two dollars. She didn't really mind; her father never allowed anyone to tease her about it.
In the'60s, she gladly switched to a natural-style Afro. Decades later she wrote a loving ode to that bygone aspect of her childhood, calling the book "Nappy Hair."

Yet when parents objected to having the book read at an elementary school, she discovered what radio host Don Imus is now learning: A seemingly outdated term used to describe hair texture remains as loaded as ever.

In characterizing the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos," he gave a sexual insult extra punch, Herron said.

"It almost made it sound like, 'If you've got to be a whore, at least don't have nappy hair,'" she said. "Instead of 'whore' degrading 'nappy-headed,' it's as if 'nappy-headed' is degrading 'whore.' It's like a whore who doesn't even try to look good."
His comment resulted in a two-week suspension from his radio show.

"Nappy" technically means downy, furry or kinky, but even the dictionary warns that when referring to blacks, it is "used derogatorily or contemptuously."

Journalist A'Lelia Bundles spent a lot of time thinking about hair when writing a biography of her great-great-grandmother, Madam C.J. Walker, a turn-of-the-century African-American entrepreneur who made a fortune selling hair products. That life story conveys timeless messages about black empowerment -- yet that's not what kids ask about whenever she speaks at college campuses.

"Hair is still a big issue for young black women. The conversation always comes back to hair: what their boyfriends want, what their parents say, what the workplace will accept," she said.