The First Pick

“The blowout, later known as the Afro, became the dominant style. But it presented a new challenge to barbers like Mr. Morrow. ‘The Afro caught everybody off guard,’ he told Ebony magazine in 1970. ‘Even Black barbers and beauticians in America were caught lacking the knowledge as well as the desire to style a decent Afro.’ An inveterate innovator, Mr. Morrow spent years working on his pick design, at first making wooden picks in the back of his shop before he landed on a plastic version that could be mass produced. Eventually he had seven models, one of them a blow-dryer attachment, and he was selling about 12,000 picks a week. An inveterate innovator, Mr. Morrow spent years working on his pick design, at first making wooden picks in the back of his shop before he landed on a plastic version that could be mass produced. Eventually he had seven models, one of them a blow-dryer attachment, and he was selling about 12,000 picks a week.” NYT (Gift Article): Willie Lee Morrow, Barber Who Popularized the Afro Pick, Dies at 82. “He built an empire around hair care products aimed at African American consumers, including a softener that inspired the Jheri curl.”