I celebrate July 18th as my personal Independence Day. On that day in 2005, I cut off all of my chemically relaxed hair and began to wear a short cropped Afro. Leaving the salon that day, the sense of relief and freedom was exhilarating, and that free feeling lasts still. For the first time in decades, I have wash and wear hair, which means I have much more time for other things, and I’m free from worrying about third degree chemical burns or skin charring burns on my scalp, forehead …