West Hempstead salon owner starts braiding class for families

Kimberly Burke was just 10 years old when braiding came to her rescue for the first time.

"I started braiding my dolls’ hair when I went into foster care," the Freeport native, now 55, recalls. "Having my dolls and having something to do helped me not feel lonely; I was separated from my siblings."

Braiding became a lifeline. When Burke reunited  with her family at 14, she had enough skills to take on neighborhood clients for pocket change. When her mother died suddenly seven years later, braiding came to the rescue again, providing an income when the grieving Burke, now a mother of two, "didn’t know which direction to go."

She found that direction in nurturing others and entrepreneurship. Now as co-owner of a day care, Petty’s Playhouse II, and a hair salon, Who Got Next? Hair Studio, both in West Hempstead, with her husband, Julius Petty, 56, Burke is teaching others how to braid, twist locs, crochet and care for a wide range of hair textures with curls and kinks.

'EVERY STRAND TELLS A STORY'

Burke recently launched Burke’s Braiding Academy where, she says, "every strand tells a story."

Seven students, from ages 8 to 45, attended the first one-day Beginner Braid session from noon to 5 p.m. at the West Hempstead salon on a  Sunday in February.  With a $225 enrollment fee, students got a kit with everything they needed for the class (and to take home): a mannequin head for hands-on practice, and the basic tools including combs, brushes, crochet hooks and smoothing and holding products.

Each attendee had a different reason for coming.

Mikaella Glen, 18, a Long Beach High School senior, plans to study early childhood education, but in the meantime, she's taking cosmetology at BOCES to acquire marketable skills. "They don’t teach you everything about natural hair and I really want to go more into that," she says.

Natural hair styles eschew chemical straighteners and blowouts in favor of cornrows, locs (a cultivated style of dreadlock), extensions and curly styles that work with the natural textures of Black hair. Many of the styles are connected to African traditions that came with the slave trade; some, like patterned cornrows, are said to have been used as coded messages and maps for enslaved people seeking to escape to freedom, according to a 2022 Library of Congress blog, "The Art of Healing: A Nostalgic Ode to Black Hair Braiding." 

Braids have gradually made their way into the work world. Some schools have tried to prevent students from sporting these styles and there have even been lawsuits and respect for diverse hairstyles has even been legislated. A bill signed in November 2023 stipulated that New York State cosmetologists graduate with the skills to work across a variety of hair textures, including curl patterns. 

But the history strengthens many people’s determination to celebrate their identity through hair. That is why Molloy University doctoral student Katherine Saint Louis stopped using chemicals on the hair she was told was "bad" when she was growing up, and why she came to the class.

"I consider myself Afro-Latina," says the Deer Park 35-year-old mother of three, of Dominican heritage. "We have African influence and it shouldn’t be denied."

But for others, it’s simply about style.

LEARNING THE ROPES 

Sanaa Dor, 16, a 10th grader at Long Island Lutheran High School in Glen Head, has box braids, but wants to try boho (mix of long locs and curls). "I like how it looks," she says. "My hairdresser does my hair now, but I want to get good so I can style my hair myself." Her sister, Taylor Lee, 8, is planning to be the go-to stylist for her friends.

Burke starts the students with simple tiny braids to evaluate what they know, then corrects their approach. The small class size means everyone gets personal attention.

Once they are braiding correctly, "Miss Kim" demonstrates how to add extensions to the braid, peppering the lesson with advice on the business and the care of hair. The students crowd around and then jump back to practice. By lunchtime, the mannequins sport long braids.  

"I want to have my daughters get a better understanding of their hair; they like doing hair," says Latrese Hadi, 45, of Cambria Heights, Queens, who came with her daughters London Wright, 12, and Aliyah Ferguson, 20. Ferguson adds: "This is also a way to spend time with my mom and my sister."  

Burke, who has adopted and fostered many children over the years, is fulfilling her own dreams by helping others fulfill theirs. Her goal is to establish a not-for-profit to provide lessons for foster kids.

"When I was in foster care, I was very sad all the time; I was angry, because I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t be with my mom," she says. Braiding saved her more than once. "I want to have that to offer young girls and boys, and to older people who need the help."

Upcoming classes will be held on March 29, April 26 and May 17 from noon to 5 p.m. at 459 Hempstead Ave., West Hempstead. Call 516-543-9866 for more information.