LAYLAH AMATULLAH BARRAYN
A Grandassa Sunday, 2026
September 1, 2026 – Ongoing
Created during the artists’ year-long residency with SHINE Portrait Studio, this is one of two projects on long-term exhibition on Express Newark’s fourth-floor.
A GRANDASSA SUNDAY
“More than six decades after the birth of the "Black is Beautiful" movement, conceived in Harlem in the early 1960s by the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS) to celebrate natural Black beauty, African heritage, and political sovereignty, A Grandassa Sunday honors its foundational matriarchs while bearing witness to the living continuation of their vision. The term "Grandassa" stems from Grandeza Land, a name coined by nationalist leader Carlos Cooks from the Spanish word grandeza—signifying greatness, majesty, and nobility—to refer to the African continent as an ancestral title of sovereignty. The Grandassa Models were the pioneering collective of Black women who brought this ideology to life on the runway, defining a new standard of natural elegance and dignity.
The title of this exhibition reflects a sacred convergence: on the last Sunday in May 2026, three generations of Grandassa women gathered at SHINE Portrait Studio to spend the day together in communion, ritual, and portraiture. Side by side with original elders who walked those early Naturally show runways stood their daughters, granddaughters, and newly enrolled legacy models. What unfolded was both a celebration and an active archiving of lineage, affirming the Grandassa Association's ongoing mission to foster intergenerational bonds and community care.
Set against a black background, the individual portraits offer a close look at each woman, celebrating her distinct beauty, personality, and interiority. Complementing these singular studies are the group portraits, photographed directly in front of "When She Came Into View, Memory Stood With Her"—a 20-foot polysilk fabric installation created during my residency at SHINE Portrait Studio. Functioning as a layered visual archive, this backdrop weaves together colonial-era photographs, mid-century Senegalese studio portraits, historic images of Black women in the diaspora, and contemporary photographs, creating a dynamic dialogue on presence, memory, and reclamation.
Together, these visual approaches serve as both formal fine-art documentation and an active archival intervention. Installed on the 4th floor of Express Newark, a vibrant space dedicated to music students and young creators, A Grandassa Sunday anchors the university’s 2026 - 27 theme of Legacy. Presented in direct conversation with historical photographs by Kwame Brathwaite, these portraits construct an unbroken visual bridge across time, reminding us that legacy is not a static relic, but a living, breathing blueprint passed from hand to hand, mother to daughter, note to note.
THE ROOTS & LEGACY OF GRANDASSA
Historical Context
In the late 1950s, Carlos Cooks and the African Nationalist Pioneer Movement (ANPM) set the stage for an intense resurgence of Black consciousness, rejecting the term “Negro” in favor of "Black" and "African" to restore self-determination and global cultural alignment. Born in St. Martin and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Cooks drew from his Afro-Caribbean roots and fluency in Spanish to refer to the African continent as "Grandeza Land"—from the Spanish word grandeza, signifying greatness, grandeur, majesty, and nobility. Phonetically transcribed by the English-speaking members of the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS) as "Grandassa Land," the term became an ancestral title of sovereignty. Cooks put this ideology into practice in 1959 by hosting a pageant with a radical requirement: contestants had to wear their hair natural. At a time when processed hair was the unyielding standard, only three women dared to enter.
Building on this foundation, AJASS—co-founded in 1956 by brothers Kwame Brathwaite and Elombe Brath—merged Pan-African politics, jazz, and visual art. In the fall of 1961, alongside core organizers Bob Gumbs, Frank Adu, and Shirley Anderson, AJASS conceived the Grandassa Models: a collective of young women tasked with modeling natural hairstyles and African-inspired garments. On January 28, 1962, at the Purple Manor in Harlem, they debuted in the landmark fashion extravaganza Naturally ’62, reciting Marcus Garvey’s poem The Black Woman before stepping onto the stage. Jazz legend Abbey Lincoln served as a prominent commentator for the movement's performances, bridging the worlds of radical music and visual presentation.
In 1962, choosing to present oneself in a natural state was a courageous, revolutionary act. Centering dark-skinned women with deep chocolate complexions, the Naturally shows broke barriers and sparked a wave of economic self-sufficiency, artistic collaboration, and national reach. The Grandassa Models took their message on the road, touring alongside Abbey Lincoln and international icon Miriam Makeba, taking natural Black beauty beyond Harlem to global stages. Key creative figures like jewelry designer Carolee Prince—a frequent collaborator photographed by Brathwaite—crafted the distinct adornments worn by the models, while activists and artisans created new hair tools and combs. Visionary pioneer Queen Black Rose established Harlem's first salon and cultural center dedicated strictly to natural hair and locs—styling cultural icons like Cicely Tyson and transforming natural hair care into an institution of Black pride.
Together, this collective vision birthed the iconic "Black is Beautiful" poster (designed by the late Bob Gumbs), influenced iconic jazz visual culture including Blue Note album covers, popularized the Afro, and established an enduring standard of dignity whose legal and cultural legacy directly informs contemporary protections like the CROWN Act.”