Interview with Adriaonna Hill about the Impact of C.U.R.L.S and the Significance of African American Hair

The Confident Unique Regal Leading Society (C.U.R.L.S) became an official student organization at USC Aiken in 2011. The organization’s initiative is to encourage African American students to embrace their natural hair texture. 

Adriaonna Hill, president of C.U.R.L.S, is a senior sociology major and was on the organization’s executive board as the secretary before becoming president this semester.  

“The founding of C.U.R.L.S was about embracing your natural hair. C.U.R.L.S allows for girls like us to give tips on our natural hair and learn from other women or men to take care of our natural hair and find a space here on campus,” said Hill. 

African Americans have faced discrimination based on their hair texture and styles such as Afros, braids and twists. Afro-hair texture is often viewed as hard to manage.

“One of our big goals this semester is to bring back hair. We kind of strayed away from hair the last couple of semesters. Just getting everybody to embrace their hair again. Getting our events more hair focused based,” said Hill. 

Hill is looking forward to the upcoming CURLS Natural Hair Movement event on Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held in the Student Activities Center, and there will be a guest speaker discussing the history of the natural hair movement.  

“A natural hair movement event, which Dr. Johnson is gonna come in and talk about the natural hair movement and the Importance of the natural hair to the black community,”

C.U.R.L.S hosts events throughout the semester, one of the biggest events is the Battle of the Textures. At the end of the semester, students walk in a fashion show with different categories such as the 90s, business and the seasons. The events allow C.U.R.L.S to bring students together from across campus.