Collection: C.D. Murray & Murray’s Hair Pomade: The Shine of Resistance, Respectability, and Black Cultural Memory

(On Display: 1926 Murray's Superior Hair Dressing Pomade Tin & 1980s Murray's Superior Hair Dressing Pomade Tin)

These little orange tins? They are time machines. A cultural compasses. Crown preservers.

To some, it may look like just a can of grease, but for Black America, Murray’s Hair Pomade (created by C.D. Murray in 1925) is a legendary symbol of survival, style, and self-expression.

I say this with conviction: Murray’s Pomade is more than a hair product: it’s an artifact of Black resilience.

Created by pharmacist C.D. Murray, this thick, vibrant pomade was designed to do what so many mainstream products wouldn’t: respect the texture and strength of Black hair. For generations, our hair was seen as a problem to be hidden, tamed, or erased, but Murray’s said: No. This is our crown. Let it shine.

Murray’s was the go-to staple in the drawers, barbershops, and beauty kits of Black folks from Harlem to Houston. It was the magic behind the laid-back waves, the finger waves, the slick-backs, the press ‘n curls, and the pompadours that strutted through the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Soul Train era.

This product held more than hair in place: it held together Black identity, especially in a world trying to unravel it.

Let’s be clear: in a racist society where image could determine access to jobs, respect, or basic dignity, presentation was protest.

Murray’s helped us step out the door with confidence, precision, and pride. That shine on our heads reflected the shine in our souls, and for many of us, it was passed down like family tradition.

Through segregation, economic struggle, and cultural erasure, Murray’s stood firm: Black-owned, Black-formulated, and Black-centered. It was affordable, it worked, and it never pretended to be anything other than what it was: bold, unapologetic, and made for us.

So when you see this orange tin, understand you are looking at a legacy. You’re looking at Saturday mornings on grandma’s stove. You’re looking at barbers crafting fresh cuts before church, and brothers brushing waves before first dates. You’re looking at generational self-love in a can.

“Murray’s was more than pomade; it was power in a tin, helping Black folks shape how the world saw us, and how we saw ourselves.”

- Dr. Tracy P. Washington (Curator, United Crowns Mobile Museum of Black History & Culture)