The internet has a way of revealing the undercurrents of culture through humor, memes, and trends. As with most things in Black culture, there’s a deeper current running through it, one that hints at ancestral memory, communal healing, and radical acceptance.
As someone who has seen red-headed Black people my whole life, from Malcolm X to my own play brother covered in freckles, I didn’t need convincing. I already knew this to be true: red hair, freckles, melanin, soul, they’ve always coexisted. But what struck me most about the reaction to this trend wasn’t just the celebration, it was the surprise. The amazement. The collective “I didn’t know we could look like this.” And that’s where the wound begins to show.
This trend, while hilarious and affirming, has pulled back the curtain on a deeper truth: that within our own community, we still struggle to see the full spectrum of Blackness.
The Genetics of Red Hair
Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2-6% of people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. Red hair varies in hue from a deep burgundy or bright copper, or auburn, to burnt orange or red-orange to strawberry blond.
The genetics of red hair appear to be associated with the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), which is found on chromosome 16. In 1995, Valverde, et al. identified alleles on MC1R associated with red hair. The number of alleles linked to red hair has since been expanded by other authors, and these variants are now identified as the RHC (red hair colour) alleles. Eighty percent of redheads have an MC1R gene variant within the RHC.
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Africans and people from the Caribbean have also been known to don bright red hair due to a gene mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor commonly referred to as MC1R. The special gene regulates melanin in skin pigmentation, the eyes, and hair. However, the distinctive trait only occurs in an individual when both parents carry the unique receptive gene.
According to the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), about 35% of people in Ireland and Scotland carry the MC1R receptor and roughly 10% have red hair.
“The last evidence I saw, was that there was a strong selection pressure against changes in the MC1R gene that caused it not to work in regions with a lot of sunlight-think Africa,” Dr. Star explained. “This probably has to do with the pale skin that comes with red hair. The red hair trait may have developed from historical interactions between Europeans and Africans in the Caribbean in the 1600s.
“This might also explain why you occasionally see red hair on a black Caribbean person who has two black parents. By chance alone, it might be that they are both carrying a European mutation which has come together in their child,” Dr.
Within DNA, there are pieces to specify that an individual will have red hair. These pieces are collectively called “Red Hair Color” or RHC variants. The main DNA piece responsible for red hair color, and a part of the RHC variants, is abbreviated MC1R, which stands for the melanocortin 1 receptor.
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When the MC1R is fully functional, it produces brown-black pigments inside melanocyte cells. These dark brown-black (melanin) pigments produced by MC1R are called eumelanin. They will be secreted. When the MC1R is mutated, it loses some of its function, and instead of producing dark pigments, it makes red-yellow pigments. These lighter-colored pigments produced inside melanocyte cells are called pheomelanin and will be secreted.
Scientists call the MC1R mutated Red Hair Color variants R151C, R160W, and D294H.1 If a person has natural red hair, s/he inherited R151C, R160W, or D294H, the mutated forms of MC1R. Although this genetic mutation makes the MC1R not fully functional, its inheritance was genetically tolerated among Northwestern European populations.
This means that at Northern latitudes, selective pressure did not eliminate it from the population because having mutated MC1R would not reduce one’s survival up North. The opposite could occur closer to the equator where mutations in the MC1R causing red-yellow pigment production are not found.
Melanocytes give skin its color-no matter what color your skin is. Melanocytes produce and secrete melanosomes-pod-like vesicles-that contain either pheomelanin or eumelanin pigments. Skin cells absorb these melanosomes, which give skin its color. The darker your skin is, the more eumelanin your melanocytes have produced. The lighter your skin, the less eumelanin your melanocytes have produced. Although eye color is far more complicated, a similar process contributes to dark eye color. Eumelanin allows the eyes to have a dark brown-black hue.
What is the Origin and Reason for Red Hair?
Red Hair and Melanoma Risk
The answer is a definite YES. Those with natural red hair, light eyes, and light skin inherit an increased genetic risk for melanoma development. The risk does not mean all people with natural red hair color are destined for melanoma. It means they are more likely than those with darker pigmentation to sustain cellular damage that might lead to cancer later in life. A lot depends on lifestyle choices and other factors.
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For example, if a red- haired person sustains blistering sunburns as a child or has routine exposure to UV, possibly through indoor tanning or through travel to lower latitudes, it would have an enormous impact. Lack of sunscreen use or UV-protective clothing when outdoors would also have an impact. Additionally, whether a red-haired person has first-degree relatives with melanoma is a major factor, too. A family history would indicate whether additional genetic risk factors are present, increasing the risk.
Eumelanin, the dark pigment, helps protect skin cells from the damaging effects of UV. Individuals with Red Hair Color variants do not have abundant eumelanin. Unfortunately, it’s more complicated than just UV. Among individuals who have developed melanoma and have Red Hair Color variants, the tumors have significantly more DNA mutations compared to others. These mutations are acquired during a red-haired person’s lifetime.
Because many melanomas occur later in life, past the reproductive years, Red Hair Color variants of MC1R like R151C, R160W, and D294H are passed to the offspring.
Fully functional MC1R and related genetics are observed in populations linked to Africa. Protection from intense UV rays is essential along the equator, where the sun is parallel to the Earth. The production of dark pigments to help protect the skin is necessary for healthy living at that latitude.
In addition to MC1R mutations occurring in Northern European populations, populations throughout Asia have different MC1R genetics compared to the rest of the globe. The ratio of the pigments eumelanin and pheomelanin determines an individual’s skin color. Therefore, hundreds of variations in MC1R exist worldwide.
Nowadays, the variations we see among hair and skin colors are largely a reflection of global migration and genetic mixing that began after 1500. With the same mixing, estimates suggest within the next 10,000 years, humankind will have only one race with the same hair, eye, and skin color with minimal variations.
If you have natural red hair, you carry a mutation in the MC1R gene, which is also associated with fair skin and light-colored eyes. This combination significantly increases your risk of developing melanoma.
Albinism and Red Hair
A redhead of African descent is pretty rare. When people think of albinism, they may picture people with white hair, pale skin and pink eyes. But the reality is different! Albinism comes in many different varieties, and can look different on different people. (And pink eyes are extremely rare in humans. There’s one type in particular that causes red hair in people with African ancestry: rufous albinism (or “OCA3 albinism”).
All of our coloring -- our skin, hair, and eye colors -- comes from melanin. People with albinism don’t make melanin in the same way. Some forms of albinism lead to almost no melanin production. Cells called melanocytes make your pigment. They have special pigment-producing granules inside called melanosomes.
Albinism is caused by genetic differences. Why are so many genes involved? To make each kind of melanin, your cells have to carry out several chemical steps. It's kind of like an assembly line. Remember, a gene is a recipe for making a specific protein. Making melanin requires lots of special proteins called enzymes. Enzymes are just proteins that can bind to a chemical or protein and make a chemical reaction happen.
A mutation can happen in the gene coding for any one of the enzymes involved in making melanin, leading to the enzyme not doing its job. Imagine an assembly line for a toy truck. If the person who puts the wheels on didn't do his job, then the truck wouldn't be able to roll. But if instead further down the line the person who paints the truck doesn't do her job, the truck would still roll but not be the usual color.
The red hair in rufous albinism is caused by a difference in a gene called TYRP1. But melanin production isn’t totally derailed. People with rufous albinism can still make red pigment.
Well, no. MC1R is involved in determining the balance of two variations of melanin in the body. This type of red hair is not due to albinism. But both are due to genetic differences in pigmentation genes.
Cultural Perceptions and Stereotypes
Cultural reactions to red hair have been varied. The Berber populations of Morocco and northern Algeria have occasional redheads.
Individuals and families in Britain are targeted for harassment and violence because of their hair colour. This prejudice has been satirised on a number of TV shows. English comedian Catherine Tate (herself a redhead) appeared as a red-haired character in a running sketch of her series The Catherine Tate Show. The sketch saw fictional character Sandra Kemp, who was forced to seek solace in a refuge for ginger people because she had been ostracised from society.
In British English, the word "ginger" is sometimes used to describe red-headed people (at times in an insulting manner), with terms such as "gingerphobia" and "gingerism" used by the British media. It is roughly the color of dried, powdered ginger root.
A common belief about redheads is that they have fiery tempers and sharp tongues. Another belief is that redheads are highly sexed; for example, Jonathan Swift satirizes redhead stereotypes in part four of Gulliver's Travels, "A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms," when he writes that: "It is observed that the red-haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength and activity."
During the Spanish Inquisition, people of red hair were identified as Jewish and isolated for persecution. In medieval Italy and Spain, red hair was associated with the heretical nature of Jews and their rejection of Jesus, and thus Judas Iscariot was commonly depicted as red-haired in Italian and Spanish art.
Geographic Distribution of Red Hair
Red hair appears most prominently in Ireland and Scotland. In fact, approximately 10% of the population in Ireland has red hair, which is the highest concentration in the world. It is also naturally occurring among ancestral descendants in England, Denmark, Iceland and along the Norwegian coast.
MC1R Gene Variations Worldwide
Fully functional MC1R and related genetics are observed in populations linked to Africa. Protection from intense UV rays is essential along the equator, where the sun is parallel to the Earth. The production of dark pigments to help protect the skin is necessary for healthy living at that latitude.
In addition to MC1R mutations occurring in Northern European populations, populations throughout Asia have different MC1R genetics compared to the rest of the globe. The ratio of the pigments eumelanin and pheomelanin determines an individual’s skin color. Therefore, hundreds of variations in MC1R exist worldwide.
Red Hair Around the World
Ancient human remains described as having red or auburn hair have been discovered in various parts of Asia, including the Tarim mummies of Xinjiang, China. In Chinese sources, ancient Kyrgyz people were described as fair-skinned, green- or blue-eyed and red-haired people with a mixture of European and East Asian features.
Several accounts by Greek writers mention redheaded people. In Asia, red or auburn hair has been found among the ancient Tocharians, who occupied the Tarim Basin in what is now the northwesternmost province of China.
In certain Biblical accounts, Hebrew and Israelite individuals were described as having ruddy hair. For example, Esau and David (Gen. 25:25; 1 Sam.
Reddish-brown (auburn) hair is also found among some Polynesians, and is especially common in some tribes and family groups.
