The conk was a hairstyle popular among African-American men from the 1920s up to the early-to-mid 1960s. This hairstyle called for a man with naturally "kinky" hair to have it chemically straightened
Kinky hair is a human hair texture prevalent in the peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa, Melanesia, Micronesia, Torres Strait Islands, and Tasmania, along with the Negrito populations of Southeast Asia and
Conk
…The conk was a hairstyle popular among African-American men from the 1920s up to the early-to-mid 1960s. This hairstyle called for a man with naturally "kinky" hair to have it chemically straightened using a relaxer called congolene, an initially homemade hair straightener gel made from the extremely corrosive…
Woman from the island of Nosy Be, in Madagascar, c. 1868
Papua New Guinean women with kinky hair
Successful entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker invented a method that relaxed textured hair. Photo taken c. 1914.
Civil rights activist Angela Davis wearing an Afro in 1973