A few years ago at Spelman College, Lori Tharps was making an appearance to promote a book she co-wrote with her friend, Ayana Byrd. The book, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, examines the fascinating, often emotional relationship Black Americans have with their hair. And she was about to find out just how much it affected the people who read it.

During the question and answer period, a woman in the audience stood up, told an emotional story about growing out her relaxer and, when she was done, snatched off her wig, showing her natural tresses for the first time. She got a standing ovation.

"Hair Story came out in 2000," Tharps told Stereohyped, "and it never ceases to amaze me that people are still so passionate about hair and the issues that it evokes. You hear something like the Glamour incident and the Don Imus incident, and you realized that these issues will never go away. I would suspect that anywhere there are black women there are black hair issues."

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