By: Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
Cornrows are a hairstyle that holds deep cultural significance within the Black community. The style, named after the agricultural fields, dates back centuries and carries rich ties to African traditions. But did cornrows also serve as a method of covert resistance, allowing slaves to communicate, gain freedom, and preserve their cultural identity? The precise role of cornrows in aiding escapes during slavery is debated.
Cornrows are often confused with traditional braids, but their distinct interwoven patterns have been a hallmark of various African cultures long before they reached the Americas. The term “cornrow” emerged between the 16th and 19th centuries in colonial America, but its roots extend deep into Africa. In fact, in the Caribbean, cornrows are sometimes referred to as “cane rows,” reflecting their association with the sugar cane fields worked by enslaved Africans.
In ancient African civilizations, particularly Egypt, both men and women wore cornrows and braids, often adorned with gold or beads. These styles were used to signify social rank, kinship, and even age or marital status. They spread throughout the continent, influencing the hairstyles of various African regions and peoples. Cornrows were a way to maintain African heritage during a time of forced cultural erasure and displacement.
Enslaved Africans were often stripped of their cultural identities, including having their heads shaved as a means of controlling and dehumanizing them. Yet, despite these efforts, cornrows became a quiet form of resistance. Slaves used cornrows to preserve their African heritage and as a tool for discreet communication.
One of the most compelling accounts of this practice is found in Colombia, where Benkos Biohò, a formerly enslaved man, escaped and built a Palenque village, creating an underground resistance network. Women in the community would use their cornrows to create “maps” and pass on escape routes or meet-up times without drawing attention. Cornrows, with their complex and varied patterns, offered a hidden language that could guide slaves toward freedom.
Similarly, historical records mention how enslaved individuals may have hidden seeds or fragments of food in their cornrows, providing sustenance during their perilous escapes. While no conclusive evidence has been found to directly confirm that enslaved people used cornrows as a systematic code for escape, these stories persist within oral histories and seem plausible within the context of slave resistance.
Historians like Patricia Turner, folklorist and professor of African American studies at the University of California Los Angeles, caution against categorically declaring these practices true, as it remains difficult to verify such claims from the time. Yet, dismissing these stories entirely does a disservice to the resilience and creativity of enslaved peoples who found ways to survive in the harshest of conditions.
“These are kind of urban legends that serve a function of giving particulars to generalities. Slave messages on quilts and cornrows… give a story to something that is ultimately very true in my mind,” she said.
For some scholars, the possibility that enslaved people could have hidden messages or food in their cornrows makes logical sense, even if it’s impossible to confirm. Turner’s perspective, shared by others, is that the absence of direct evidence doesn’t necessarily negate the stories; instead, it underscores the importance of telling the broader history of Black resistance and survival, whether through folklore or historical record.
Oral history in Colombia recounts tales of Black slaves using their hair to send messages. A 2011 Washington Post article about the Smithsonian Folklife Festival explored this history through the perspective of Ziomara Asprilla Garcia, an Afro-Colombian hair braider:
“It had thick, tight braids, braided closely to the scalp, and was tied into buns on the top,” Asprilla Garcia said. “And another style had curved braids, tightly braided on their heads. The curved braids would represent the roads they would [use to] escape.”
Cornrows are more than just a style—they are a symbol of Black heritage, strength, and resilience. While many people across the world wear the hairstyle, cornrows continue to hold deep cultural importance for people of African descent. Celebrities such as Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Laverne Cox have made the style a fixture of modern fashion, showcasing its versatility while acknowledging its roots in African culture.
Cornrows, like other natural Black hairstyles such as dreadlocks, are often deemed “unprofessional” or “untidy” by institutions like schools and workplaces. In February 2024, a judge ruled that a Texas high school legally suspended a Black student, Darryl George, for wearing his hair in locs— even though he ties them up instead of allowing them to hang over his face and ears.
The history of cornrows goes beyond their aesthetic appeal. They symbolize a connection to African heritage, a quiet act of defiance during slavery, and a way for modern Black individuals to express pride in their culture. Whether or not slaves in the U.S. used cornrows as a secret means of communication, the hairstyle remains a symbol of the ingenuity of those who fought to keep their cultural identity intact.
