White People with Dreadlocks

This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series White People Dreads

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White People Dreads

• White People with Dreadlocks

THIS ARTICLE IS A REPRINT OF AN ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NAANI.COM IN 2002. WE’VE DECIDED TO REVIVE THE DEBATE TO SEE HOW MUCH WE AND VISITORS HAVE GROWN…HOPEFULLY.

I remember back in college that every now and then I’d spot a (dread)locked head on campus. The irony was that none of them belonged to my African-American peers. I didn’t know what to think when I saw a White person with dreadlocks. At the time, I didn’t fully understand their historical significance myself so I thought, “Who am I to judge?”

white people with dreadlocks

Obviously these people were brave enough to embrace a traditionally African style that even some Blacks have difficulty accepting, so why hate?

When I started researching (dread)locks and natural hair on the web, most of the sites I stumbled upon catered to a White audience. I thought dreadlocking African hair was a trial but after reviewing some of these sites, it seemed White people take locking to a whole notha level.

I’ve seen sites that not only recommend using vats of beeswax, but also toothpaste, glue…honey???? On top of that, some boast the ability to lock one’s hair in a matter of just a few weeks which anyone with locked hair knows is a joke.

So it got me thinking and I decided to pose a few questions. What do you think of White people with dreadlocks? Is it a lifestyle or hairstyle for them? Are they ever truly dreadlocked?

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67 Responses to “White People with Dreadlocks”

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1. 4
   Erin Says:
   February 27th, 2009 at 9:57 PM

   I’m really bothered by all the people giving negative opinions about this because I am white and, though I”m not locked yet, I will be getting my hair done very soon. I don”t think everything needs to be a black or white issue. There shouldn”t be “black styles/white styles” there should be “human styles” because that’’s what we are. Being white does not make me any less of a human than others being black and, even though there are a lot of “good old boy” rednecks out there, I don”t know of any one who has the right to claim a particular style as their own. I understand that, traditionally, dredlocks are an African hairstyle but if they”re cool and white people want to embrace something from another culture and try it out, then why not? We are all brothers and sisters on God’’s spaceship Earth and we need to remember that now more than ever. I can”t wait to get my hair locked soon (I have to admit that I have very thick, curly and nappy hair) and I think it will look cool and make my life with two children easier in the sense that I will save lots of time on my hair in the long run. I hope I don”t offend anyone, but I think it’’s time to start thinking of all cultures as one instead of divided.

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2. 5
   tshepo Says:
   February 27th, 2009 at 9:58 PM

   I’d like to comment on this issue of white people having dreadlocks.First of all i would like to say that i have no beef with a any white person with dreadlocks.Some of them are just experimenting with something outside their culture.If you go as far as looking at the British,back in those mid-victorian times they abhorred dreadlocked hair.So for me i could just infer that as usual white folks want to venture into the unknown.To those white brothers and sisters out there who wanna experience some cultures,i wanna say this;you have to be born in a culture and grow in that culture.Live through the culture.you just cannot wake up one day and say that i want to feel how africans live.But it becomes an eyesore when you see a white person with unruly hair that has been forced to form dreads.To sum it all,Black folks have some of the beautifullest dreads on this planet.

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3. 6
   sharon Says:
   February 27th, 2009 at 9:59 PM

   In regards to Europeans/Whites appropriating (again) African style: Why don”t they go further and just be “all the way” Black folks. Let them take the whole “kit and caboodle”. Let them take policy brutality, inferior schools, healthcare, blatant racism in your face, etc, etc. Let them bear the brunt from their own for once and give us a break. Then we”ll see how serious they are about locking their hair.

   For many (as in the 60s) co-opting the culture of Black folks is nothing new. When they get tired and want a nice comfortable (white) life in suburbia, they will cut those dreads and revert to who and what they are: white people living in a white supremacist culture. They can quote Bob Marley all they want. What do they have to say and do about white world supremacy?

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