Can a black person be sent home, lose their job, or be denied employment because of their hair in America in 2023? Can young black females be restricted from wearing certain hairstyles in pageants and other publicly organized events?
Yes, Virginia, there is natural hair discrimination in America.
And the legal answer to this type of discrimination is the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful Open World for Natural Hair). The CROWN acronym says it all relative to natural hair freedom and equality.
What is natural hair?
Natural hair is hair without relaxers, chemical straighteners, or texturizers. The freedom to wear natural hair without discrimination is an unalienable right. Some states and cities have passed the CROWN Act, but federal legislation is still pending in the U.S. Congress.
Blacks with natural hairstyles deserve respect, along with those sporting relaxed or straight hairstyles.
Thank goodness, my granddaughter could compete for the 2023 Queen for the 9th grade. Her beautiful box braids draped her brown sun-kissed shoulders and cascaded down her white open-back sequenced gown. Her pearly whites glistened as surprise widened her smile when she was crowned Queen. She walked stately and confidently as the crown rested on her beautiful head of hair.
My granddaughter looked like a beautiful African queen. I’m glad my daughter chose the box braids instead of a perm and curl or some other hairstyle.
Fortunately, the 2023 Ms. Retro Pageant had no hairstyle restrictions, especially those that could impact African-American female contestants.
Blacks wearing box braids and other natural hairstyles in corporate America deserve the protection of the CROWN Act.
When my daughter was four or five and took ballet, no braids were one of the written restrictions for public performances. Like other black parents, I felt singled out. The provision was highly insensitive and discriminatory, so I disregarded it.
My daughter performed in her adorable red tulle ladybug outfit with her braids partially enclosed in sparkling white beads. She looked beautiful. I remember telling her, “Fly, my beautiful ladybug, fly!”
Why would anyone attempt to advise a parent how not to style or groom their child’s hair? Hair is a personal matter, and how someone styles it is a part of self-expression, not a part of a corporate mission.
We love our hair! And we love styling it different ways!
There’s straight, curly, short, long, thin, thick, wavy, coiled, all types of natural hair. People like to change their hairdos or styles like they change their lipstick color.
I heard a shopping network host talk about a particular curling or straightening iron ‘also being good for ethnic hair.’ The statement sounded strange, and I’m pretty sure she was referring to African American hair. The word ethnic denotes a group of people with shared history, culture, language, features, and other associations. Ethnic doesn’t indicate any particular race or group.
Like other ethnicities, Blacks should be free to express themselves and their personalities with various hairstyles. The possibilities are many: all types of braids, corn rows, afros, locs, dreads, extensions, wigs, and others.
I understand the military must regulate length, volume, and other aspects of hair for men and women because of uniform standards, job performance, personnel safety, and combat effectiveness. But their hair disciplines should be implemented to protect, not to police, punish, divide, or denigrate people.
Does corporate America profile, police, and punish blacks because of their hairstyles?
People displaying their diversity, ethnicity, or religious beliefs through their natural hair and hairstyles should not be profiled, policed, or punished. Such actions are acts of discrimination and oppression.
Yes, we want and must have hair equality in America!
The woman with blond hair wants hair freedom. Which one? The black blonde or the white blonde? Women of all ethnicities wear hair color.
Some corporations and organizations consider natural and protective hairstyles less professional than straight hair.
What’s a protective hairstyle?
A protective hairstyle doesn’t expose one’s ends to the sun, heat, tugging, and other manipulations that damage the health and growth of hair.
Discrimination of one’s hair is oppressive.
See blacks and their culture; let’s respect the right to wear natural hairstyles.
Whether in the workplace or worship place, natural hair is a part of black culture, and discrimination must be eliminated.
Equality for natural hair, we need the federal CROWN Act.
Be well.