The power of hair as protection

In Ntozake Shange’s “oh she gotta head fulla hair”, Allegra’s hair is her protection. Allegra’s hair allows her to live in a world full of her dreams by growing objects from her hair. This allows Allegra to live in a world of her desires, which she brushes in order to uphold. Shange illustrates this connection between protection and hair through the use of colors, descriptions of Allegra’s continuous brushing, and listing items grown by Allegra’s hair. This text encourages readers to think about blackness through the lens of hair as protection.