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Unfair treatment for natural African-American styles
An odd story that a dear friend of mine experienced still throws me off to this day:
She went to the salon, got her hair braided, and paid money for the service on Sunday. The following day (Monday), she went to work, and they told her she could not come to work until she took her braids out.
This happened maybe 15 years ago; at the time, she didn’t feel empowered to fight back. Ultimately, she needed that job, which meant their rules or no paycheck.
What did she do? She took the braids out that she had paid more than a hundred dollars for the previous day and then put a wig on (since the braids were too big for a wig and her hair was too “unruly” from the braids to wear naturally).
If You’re Not Banned, You’re Treated “Differently”
This story has happened to other people in various ways. Some people get to come to work but, in exchange, receive “looks” from people at work, get left out of conversations and meetings, are not approached by their coworkers for small talk, or experience the continual feeling of being left out.
Prejudices and racism come in a variety of ways. For some reason, African-American hair remains a “problem” because it’s different from straight or eurocentric hair.
My Corporate Experiences Have Been Positive
Thankfully, I’ve never had an employer tell me anything about my hair. I’ve worn twists, locs, and braids since I entered the corporate space a decade ago. Unfortunately, this is not the experience of every African American, though, and I can’t turn a blind eye to this truth.
Is It Because I’m A Lighter Complexion?
I have to note that “light-skin privilege” is likely to exist. Two people in my family are yellow-skinned, which I am not, so I never considered myself “light-skinned” because they’re what I consider light-skinned. Though I believe this is up for debate, people throughout my life have told me I am light-skinned.
Have I encountered fewer negative corporate experiences because of my skin tone? Maybe. Maybe not. My friend was of darker complexion, but let’s face it, the company was also simply racist.
Either way, many people I’ve had conversations with still feel uncomfortable wearing their hair in specific ways because of how others (people not of color) might perceive it in the workplace, no matter their skin tone.
People should not be forced to divest themselves of their racial-cultural identity by changing their natural hair in order to adapt to predominantly white spaces in the workplace or in school (source: thecrownact.com)
The Crown Act
For centuries it has been easier to assimilate than to be our natural selves.
How can we address this issue?
Thankfully, we have The Crown Act, which explicitly bans bias against African-American hair, but we still have a ways to go. The law is not passed in every state yet.
As we continue to wear our hair in its natural state, we can try to desensitize and overexpose culture to our natural hair, which might increase acceptance and help normalize our hair types. Because we all ultimately know that laws don’t eradicate discriminatory behavior 100%.
Black Women
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