Braiding the Atlas: Black Feminist Cartography and Extensions of Care in Crooklyn ’s Story Maps

ABSTRACT: Hairstyling has traditionally been characterized as a type of domestic labor in the United States but extends beyond the home as a means of embedding and sharing stories within Black communities. Hair is an unconventional media form made digital, as tactile patterns are produced through stylists’ digits (fingers). Using Crooklyn (Spike Lee, 1994), I explore hairstyling as a tactic to digitally map the geographies of Black women and girls. I argue that through the styling of hair, these groups take on the role of digital griotte—a female cultural and community storyteller—engaging in a Black feminist cartography that implements an ethic of care.