Photo courtesy of Lyzette Wanzer.
On March 27th, the Philadelphia Alumni Writers House welcomed Lyzette Wanzer, a Franklin and Marshall College alumni from the class of ‘88, to present on Trauma, Tresses, and Truth: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives, her newest collection of edited works.
During both August 2021 and 2023, Wanzer also produced and hosted her own conference titled “Trauma, Tresses, & Truth: A Conference Interrogating Black Women’s Hair” that brought together panels, workshops, webinars, and readings to examine the policing, perception, politics, and persecution forced upon Black women’s natural hair. Trauma, Tresses, and Truth, the result of the conferences, is a book edited by Wanzer featuring essays by women of color about how non-white hair has been used as an excuse to systemically and individually oppress people of color in the United States. Along with being an incredible role model for aspiring writers and creative individuals, Wanzer is particularly incredible with her editing. Any editorial role is a delicate balance between preserving a writer’s original voice and uplifting the overall work. And, as is clear in every page of Trauma, Tresses, and Truth, Wanzer tackles this difficult role with elegance and grace.
Sophomore Teagan Durkin is the Opinions Editor. Her email is tdurkin@fandm.edu.