http://madamenoire.com/785709/bronner-bros-international-beauty-show-turns-70/

<a href="http://madamenoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_8067-611×310.jpg"><img src="http://madamenoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_8067-611×310.jpg" class="wp-image-785732 size-full" height="600" width="1068" /></a> Bronner Bros.

Big hair, over-the-top makeup, looks and styles beyond the ordinary imagination! The nation's largest African-American hair show, the <a href="http://bronnerbros.com/" target="_blank">Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show</a> celebrated its 70th year last weekend with a once-in-a-lifetime beauty show at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Thousands showed up and showed off their amazing hair creations and makeup trends. The anniversary show wrapped up on February 13th.

The show also featured a special museum exhibit to mark the 70th anniversary.

Bronner Bros. International Beauty show was started back in the 1930s by Dr. Nathaniel Bronner. It was a very difficult–and dangerous–time for Blacks, but Bronner wanted to create his own business. "The KKK burned down their home twice, so, when he came to Atlanta, he only had $20, so he started out delivering newspapers," Nathaniel Bronner's son James Bronner told <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/02/11/514590204/nations-largest-african-american-hair-show-marks-70-years-of-black-beauty" target="_blank">NPR</a>.

So how did he end up in the beauty industry? It seems Dr. Bronner, who studied business at Morehouse College, and spent a lot time at his sister's salon, simply saw a prime opportunity.

<a href="http://madamenoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/slideshow_1002247187_BronnerBros20.jpg"><img src="http://madamenoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/slideshow_1002247187_BronnerBros20.jpg" alt="" class="size-full wp-image-785734" height="600" width="1068" /></a> Bronner Bros.

"He, one day, began to take hair products from his sister's salon on his paper route. He looked at his sales and said, 'Hey, these products are selling more than the newspapers,' " recalled James Bronner.

As a result, in 1947 Dr. Bronner and his brother, Arthur, launched their company and show, which over the years has attracted the likes of  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as the country's top stylists including those for Michelle Obama and Beyoncé.

But prior to launching the company, Nathaniel found himself at the Apex beauty school, soaking up all the knowledge he could about the beauty industry. He was the only man in his class in his 1939 graduating class.

"He looked at Madam C.J. Walker and the others and saw a boldness in them," his son explained. "And he said, 'This is what is required to be successful.'"

Check out the full NPR interview below.

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