Grandassa Models were a part of a Black is Beautiful movement started by

Kwame Brathwaite Kwame Brathwaite (January 1, 1938 – April 1, 2023) was an American photojournalist and activist known for popularizing the phrase "Black is Beautiful" and documenting life and culture in Harlem and Africa. Life and work Born Gilbert Ronald ...

and

Elombe Brath Cecil Elombe Brath (September 30, 1936 – May 19, 2014)"Who Was Elombe Brath?"
, Elo ...

which centered on natural Black beauty. They attracted

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

females who represented their standards of "Black is Beautiful" and were part of the

Black is Beautiful Black is beautiful is a cultural movement that was started in the United States in the 1960s by African Americans. It later spread beyond the United States, most prominently in the writings of the Black Consciousness Movement of Steve Biko ...

movement from 1962 to 1979. The Grandassa Models were a part of the "Miss Natural Standard of Beauty Contests" based in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York City and were hosted each year on

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) (commonly known a ...

Day, August 17.

History

The original Grandassa Models were Clara Lewis, Black Rose,

Helene Nomsa Brath Helene Nomsa Brath is a mother, wife, community organizer, education activist, education reformer, educator, public speaker, and artist. She was married to and worked with her husband Elombe Brath for over 50 years. In the 1960s she was a Grand ...

, Priscilla Bardonille, Mari Toussaint, Esther Davenport, Wanda Sims, and Beatrice Cramston, and Jean Gumbs. Members wore their hair naturally, which was considered taboo in the 1950s, and represented a range of body sizes and skin colors.

“It was revolutionary. During that time – the 1950s and 60s – it was unacceptable to wear your hair in any natural hairstyle. The point that was being made was that you can be your natural self and be proud of who you are, and not accept another person’s standard of beauty as your own.” - Kwame Jr., Kwame Brathwaite's son and Director of Archives for the Kwame Brathwaite Archive

Further, AJASS was “invested in a body positive movement that celebrated the thick, curvaceous bodies of Black women at a time when ultra-thin models Twiggy and Jane Shrimpton were the body type du jour in the high fashion industry,” says Dr. Tanisha Ford, Associate Professor of Africana Studies and History at the University of Delaware. “These women were saying no, we want to embrace our curves. We want to embrace our full noses, our full of lips.” Models designed and made their own clothes and worked exclusively with Black beauty businesses.

The African Jazz-Art Society & Studio

The African Jazz-Art Society & Studio (AJASS) was formed in 1956 by a group of young African American artists, designers, musicians, hairdressers, writers, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

enthusiasts. It was initially called the Jazz-Art Society and was later remained the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios. Organizers included

Elombe Brath Cecil Elombe Brath (September 30, 1936 – May 19, 2014)"Who Was Elombe Brath?"
, Elo ...

, Robert Gumbs, Afrank Adu, Chris Acemandese Hall, David K. Ward, Ernest Baxter, and Jimmy Abu Williams producing jazz concerts, art exhibitions, and cultural events. The concerts featured many artists that later become renowned, such as

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

Jackie McLean John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their death. Bio ...

Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 17, 1983), later in life changing his name to Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

Hank Mobley Henry Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neithe ...

Junior Cook Herman "Junior" Cook (July 22, 1934 – February 3, 1992) was an American hard bop tenor saxophone player. Biography Cook was born in Pensacola, Florida. A member of a musical family, he started on alto saxophone before switching to tenor du ...

Art Taylor Arthur S. Taylor Jr. (April 6, 1929 – February 6, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, who "helped define the sound of modern jazz drumming".Watrous, Peter (February 7, 1995)"Art Taylor, 65, Jazz Drummer Who Inspired Young Musicians" ''The Ne ...

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American Jazz drumming, jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio stat ...

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

Leon Thomas Amos Leon Thomas Jr. (October 4, 1937 – May 8, 1999), known professionally as Leon Thomas, was an American jazz and blues vocalist, born in East St. Louis, Illinois, and known for his bellowing glottal-stop style of free jazz singing in the ...

Wilbur Ware Wilbur Bernard Ware (September 8, 1923 – September 9, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 674. Oxford University Press He was a regular bassist for ...

, and others. The organization was influenced by Carlos A. Cooks, leader of the African Nationalist Pioneer Movement (ANPM) which developed out of

UNIA ''Unia'' (), released on 25 May 2007, is the fifth full-length studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica, following the album '' Reckoning Night''. The first single from the album was " Paid in Full", released on 27 April 2007. This is ...

Naturally 62

In January 1962, the African Jazz-Art Society & Studio and Grandassa Models gave a fashion show was in the basement of Harlem night club, Purple Manor, on East 125th street. The show was called "Naturally 62" and one of the first to feature amateur models. In the early sixties, African Americans wore their hair pressed to straighten by a

hot comb A hot comb (also known as a straightening comb or pressing comb) is a metal comb that is used to straighten moderate or coarse hair and create a smoother hair texture. A hot comb is heated and used to straighten the hair from the roots. It can b ...

whereas the models' hair was natural and they had dark skin. The Naturally shows were created to develop racial pride, African culture, poetry, art, and standards of beauty. AJASS shows traveled to colleges and universities in the United States of America and produced with

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist and songwriter. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of delivering dee ...

and

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

. They were also a part of the

Black Arts Movement The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African Americans, African-American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The mov ...

, along with Larry Neal,

Ed Bullins Edward Artie Bullins (July 2, 1935November 13, 2021), sometimes publishing as Kingsley B. Bass Jr, was an American playwright. He won awards including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and several Obie Awards. Bullins was associated wit ...

, and Leroy Jones (later

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...

) that created theater in Harlem. Ann Tripp, News Director for the

Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud'', '' ...

Show and WBLS/WLIB Radio, is quoted as saying "they were forerunners of the natural hair movement... We tried to make black people feel proud of who they were, no matter what complexion or hair type." AJASS continued to hold "Naturally" beautiful shows regularly thru and 1980s, and then ten year anniversaries until 2002. In 1963 AJASS created The Black Standard Publishing Company. They published two booklets; "Naturally '63 Portfolio, and later in 1963 "Color Us Cullud", the AJASS theater company. On September 22, 2018 in Harlem, the Elombe Brath Foundation and the Harlem Arts Alliance presented a tribute to the Grandassa Models, as the pioneers of the "Black is Beautiful" movement.

References

{{Authority control African Americans in New York City African-American female models African-American cultural history Harlem African-American hair Kinky hair