CULTURE & STYLE

LOOSE ENDS

By Eustacia A. Campbell, , MBA, CCWP

Have you ever felt compelled to wear a weave, use a hot comb to press your hair, use chemical relaxers, shave your beard or cut your twists/locs to conform to European standards of straight hair and a so-called “clean” look? For years, Black hair has always been a topic of discussion. Oftentimes,I ask myself why? Why do we have to conform? Why are people uncomfortable? Why do people feel entitled to touch it? This is the hair we were born with, right?

Black women and men have been subjected to implicit andexplicit biases such as hair restrictions and discrimination.According to an article posted by Delaware online, a state workerstated that he felt pressured to cut locs in order to progress inhis career. Some of us have been rejected from jobs, not offeredpromotions, and denied opportunities simply due to the style andtexture of our natural hair.

According to the “Good Hair” Study:

• Black women experience higher rates of anxiety relatedto haircare.

• Black women spend more money on their hair than white women.

• Black women spend more time on their hair than white women.

• 1 in 5 Black women feel obligated to straighten their hair for work.

Preparing for job interviews can be a stressful process. Adding onthe additional stress of how to style your natural tresses is the last

thing one should have to worry about. But we do and we push through.

For countless years, I wouldn’t allow myself to wear braids to a jobinterview for fear that I would not get hired for the job I knew I wasqualified (sometimes overqualified) to do. Then when I got the job, Iwould keep my hair straight for all executive meetings or anytime I hadto present in front of an audience.

Whether your hair is silky straight, kinky, curly, afro puff, twists,braids, locs it shouldn’t matter. As long as you are qualified and havethe credentials to do the job you are hired to do, your hair should notbe a concern, right?

In an attempt to end hair discrimination, Creating a Respectful andOpen World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act was created in 2019. Thegoal is to ensure protection against race-based hair discrimination. TheCROWN Act is law in eight states: California, New York, New Jersey,Virginia, Colorado, Washington, Maryland, and Connecticut. When I firstheard of the CROWN Act, I’ll be honest, I thought it was ridiculous. Myfirst thought was, why do we need a law to allow the freedom to wearour hair the way we want? But it’s necessary and needed to combathair discrimination.

We have a long way to go but the CROWN Act is a step in the rightdirection. Our hair should never be the cause of embarrassment oranxiety. We should be proud of our hair because it is powerful; we arepowerful. As many organizations are now trying to address systemicracism in the workplace, now is the time to tighten up. Embrace your natural hair, boldly and proudly! u

PHOTO BY SAMSON KATT FROM PEXELS

McGill A, Godsil RD, MacFarlane J, et al. Perception Institute. The “Good Hair” Study: Explicit and Implicit Attitudes Toward Black Women’s Hair. February 2017.