The power of the Afro pick | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series

Transcriber: TED Translators admin Reviewer: Camille Martínez

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

You don't really look at a toothbrush and say,

你不會看著牙膏說：「我很棒！」

"I'm great!"

But when you look at an Afro pick, which is a grooming tool,

但當你看著直梳，一種梳裝工具，

it can remind you in your subconscious to, like,

它可以在你的潛意識中提醒你，

really be proud and, like, "All right."

要感到驕傲，且「很好」的。

〔小東西〕

[Small thing.]

〔大想法〕

[Big idea.]

An Afro pick is a utilitarian tool

直梳是一種實用的工具，

used to maintain the Afro hairstyle.

用來維持「黑人捲」髮型。

I think the Afro pick was designed

我認為直梳的設計

for the ergonomics of creating something

是要以符合人體工學的方式創造出

that felt like you were running fingers through your hair.

很像是用手指撥頭髮的感覺。

The shape, even the depth that it goes in -- it's like a hand.

它的形狀，甚至插入的深度—— 簡直就像一隻手。

You have plastic or nylon teeth,

梳齒有塑膠的或尼龍的，

and then you have the stainless steel or the nickel teeth.

還有不鏽鋼或鎳製的梳齒。

I always prefer the metal tooth

我個人向來偏愛金屬的梳齒， 因為我喜歡它的聲音，

just 'cause I like the sound

and the ones I know have the black power fist on the handle.

且我所知道的這種梳子， 在柄上有個黑人權力的拳頭。

When I think of black hair in America,

談到美國的黑人髮型時，

I think of something that's been policed.

我想到的是受到監管。

Back in the days, it was expected for black people

在過去，大家會期望黑人 對他們的頭髮做化學處理。

to chemically treat their hair.

Whether that's healthy for them is a secondary thing to blending in.

融入大家比他們的健康更重要。

In the 50s, dancer Ruth Beckford and a lot of jazz singers

五○年代時，舞者露絲 · 貝克福特

及許多爵士歌手 厭倦了把頭髮弄直，

were tired of straightening their hair,

so they said, all right, we're going to just let it grow naturally

所以，他們說，好， 我們要讓頭髮自然生長，

and started rocking natural, close-cropped hair.

開始留自然、剪短的頭髮。

And in the 60s, that style evolved

六○年代，那種髮型演變

with the formation of the Afro,

形成了黑人捲，

which was the cropped hair, natural, picked out

把剪短的自然頭髮長出來

into a more spherical shape.

成為球型。

You had civil rights leaders, activists, that adopted the hairstyle

有民運領導人、活動家 採用這種髮型，

as a means of rebellion and black pride.

做為反抗的手段，代表黑人驕傲。

And then you had musicians like James Brown,

接著，詹姆士 · 布朗等音樂家，

who was infamously known for chemically straightening his hair,

過去因為用化學方式 把頭髮弄直而聲名狼藉，

reject that and go natural.

也改走自然路線。

It went hand-in-hand with his music,

他還有搭配的歌曲，

so he had songs like "Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud."

比如《放聲說， 我是黑人且我很驕傲》。

The black is beautiful movement

「黑就是美」運動

is just rejecting the notion that to be black

要對抗的想法是認為擁有黑色

or to have darker skin, to have a curlier grade of hair,

或深色皮膚、有比較捲的頭髮，

was something to be ashamed of.

是很可恥的。

I have one of my favorite pictures of my mother

我很喜歡一張照片，

裡面有我母親和我外婆，

and my grandmother,

and my grandmother had a small 'fro,

我外婆就留了些微的黑人捲，

and that was in the 60s.

那時是六○年代。

African hair combs date back to 3500 BCE.

直梳可以追溯到 西元前三千五百年，

The oldest African combs are found in ancient Egypt and Sudan,

最早的直梳出現在古埃及和蘇丹，

so they were making pyramids and combs.

他們會打造金字塔和梳子。

The way the ancient African combs were embellished

古時的直梳有做裝飾，

represented status or tribal affiliation.

代表地位或所屬部落聯盟。

It's no coincidence that the fist on the modern Afro pick

現代直梳上的拳頭也有著聯盟

also sets the tone for affiliation

和訴求的意味，這點並非巧合。

and what set you claim.

And then there's the Black Power movement.

接著還有「黑人權力」運動。

Most movements need their icons, right?

運動通常要有象徵圖像。

You have the fist, you have the 'fro.

比如拳頭和黑人捲的髮型。

These things coincide with the Black Panther aesthetic,

它們很符合黑豹黨的美感，

where you could kind of spot your tribe from afar,

從很遠的地方 就可以發現你的部落，

because you're not just keeping a pick in, like, your beauty kit.

因為你不只是把梳子 放在比如你的化妝包裡，

It's in your back pocket,

它也在你的後口袋裡， 刻意把拳頭露在外面，

purposely with the first outside of it,

and in your hair, you'll rock it in your 'fro.

也可以放在你的黑人捲髮裡。

If I think about iconic Afros,

談到象徵性的黑人捲髮，

I definitely think about Angela Davis.

我肯定會想到安吉拉 · 戴維斯。

Her 'fro personifies elegance, style,

她的黑人捲髮象徵著 優雅、風格、自由、反抗。

freedom, rebellion.

You feel all of these feelings at once

看到安吉拉 · 戴維斯在聯邦法庭上

when you see Angela Davis fighting for her life in federal court.

為她的生命而戰， 就能同時感受到這些感覺。

By the 80s, the Afro style became less radical.

到了八○年代，黑人捲髮 不再那麼有激進意味。

The Afro picks are still produced to this day

至今仍然在生產上面 有緊握拳頭的直梳，

with the clenched fist,

so it's the remnants of the movement

它是黑人運動的遺跡， 留在日常的物品中。

in the everyday object.

When I was young, it was just, like, another object.

我年輕時，只覺得 它是種普通的物品。

It was a comb.

就是把梳子。

But as I became more enlightened

但當我有更多知識，

to really understand the roots and the origin

真正了解它的根源和起源、

and the intentionality of the design

設計的目的，

and why the fist and all of these things ...

及為什麼會有拳頭及這一切……

I woke up.

我便覺醒了。