Back to Natural and the Intergenerational Healing of the Natural Black Hair Movement

Abstract

In this edited interview, psychologists Eric Greene and Nisha Gupta converse with psychologist and filmmaker Dr. Gillian Scott-Ward about her documentary film Back to Natural (2019), which explores the psychological and emotional experience of the intersection of hair, politics, and identity in Black communities. This documentary is a powerful, thought-provoking call for healing that takes a grassroots approach to exploring the globalized policing of natural Black hair. The film offers a journey of discovery and enlightenment while celebrating Black history and natural styles that are taking the world by storm. In this conversation, Gillian shares her own experiences of critical consciousness about natural hair while working as a clinical psychologist, which led to this film, her insights into the intergenerational trauma, resiliency, and healing of African descendants as exemplified in the natural hair movement, and her experiences using her film as a tool for human rights discrimination cases and implicit bias training as a psychologist.