Black hairdresser Donna Small on embracing race and history

Hair, whether its the natural wooly-textured African type or the looser curl of someone of mixed race, is a key part of black culture and identity.

Donna Small, who runs Yapps Hair Design out of her Ancaster home, knows this as well as anyone.

"As a hairdresser, and a black hairdresser, Ive come to realize that I look at texture rather than the colour of someones skin,"she told CBC Hamilton.

"I have some clients that are maybe raised in a white home but theyre mixed with black and so Im able to educate them on how to take care of their hair and how to love their hair how to embrace who they are."

• Coun. Matthew Green on what Black History Month means to him

Black women from all walks of life come to Yapps to get their hair styled but also to connect often sharing personal stories or discussing spiritual matters with Small.

During Black History Month, Small said shell be thinking a lot about those who were enslaved and those who fought for freedom.

"Its very important to me that we remember," Small said.

In her own life, Small said drawing on that experience helps her overcome adversity. And, as a mother, it means she has big expectations for her children "I expect more,"Small says.

Black History Month, shesaid, is a "reminder to the children that the expectation is for them to succeed."

Throughout Black History Month, CBC Hamilton is producing a series of portraits of people in the citys black community and asking them what black history month means to them. An audio clip you can listen to using the player above will accompany each photograph.