 Social pressures at the time were heavily influencing these Americans ( women ) to have long , straight hair , like white people did . This resulted in the Black is beautiful movement , wherein African Americans wore long hair , that was however , untreated and unmodified . More recently , hair @-@ extensions have become widespread . Scholars have pointed out the continued pressure on black women to have long , smooth hair . Amelia Jones points out that dolls for children , such as Barbies , add to this pressure , citing as an example a new , black Barbie with long hair . Blacks , she believes , should be able to be themselves without feeling pressured to " tame " their hair . 
