Liberated Threads: Black Women, Style, and the Global Politics of Soul spans four continents, eighteen countries and the socio-historical planes of black liberation struggles in the black diaspora, and in Africa to a lesser extent, to explore the ways in which black women’s resistance has been visible and concentrated not only in actions within political movements but also in the realm of style and fashion. Focused especially on the 1960s and 70s, Tanisha Ford’s concern is with the deliberate and resistant ‘African-inspired’ fashions that she calls “soul-style”: from Angela Davis’ iconic afro, to Nina Simone’s attitude, described as “straightforward, relaxed and African” (29), to the West African wax prints, caftans and dashikis that became popular with women in organisations like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Movement London, as well as among university students on American campuses.
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