Hairstyle choices for African-Americans can affect landing a job

Levon Campbell III Staff Writer

Hairstyles are an important part of looking professional for corporate America. Although some may say there are no rules regarding your hair at work, African American men should be cautious about the hairstyles they want especially if they want to climb the corporate ladder in America.

According to www. stylishweekly.com, there are at least 34 professional hairstyles African-American males can wear for interviews. The most common hairstyle for interviews is mostly short hair, like buzzcuts, fades, and waves. Dreads are also okay, but they have to be tied up, short, or never covering your eyes, while some workplaces consider dreadlocks unprofessional, following one of these styles makes them okay to have at work.

According to www. readysleek.com, buzzcuts are professional because of the versatility they provide they’re basically considered acceptable in most workplaces with buzzcuts come in different styles like waves which are also common haircuts that men wear for interviews and the business world along with fades. These styles work mostly because they are easy to maintain and because of how simple they are, and the simpler they are the more likely it is viewed to be professional according to www.readysleek. com. Dreadlocks are viewed differently in the workplace and may affect employment for African-American men if they like having dreads. According to www.lionlocs.com, in the United States, discriminating against someone for wearing dreadlocks is 100 percent legal, and only seven states have laws that protect against hairstyle discrimination. Most places will even try to make a person with dreadlocks cut their hair because to them it looks messy.

In 2018, a high school wrestler from new jersey was forced to cut his hair by a referee before a match which led to the referee getting suspended, according to lionlocs.com. There are ways to wear dreadlocks at a business place to look professional and that is by having short locs, having your locs tied up, wrapped up, or in a tight ponytail never have your dreadlocks over your face and ears.

Lenry Loving, a barber from Louisville, Miss., feels that both natural hair and dreadlocks have many styles that are appropriate for corporate America. For natural hair, he feels that they are great for the workplace if you keep them well cut with fades and medium afros.

“Natural hairstyles should be properly styled and groomed in professional environments. Some of the cuts I think that are appropriate are even cuts, bald fades, temp taper fades, and medium afros,” Loving said. For dreadlocks, loving feels you should never have them hanging wild or unkempt, but you should have them maintained in a braided style or tied up in a bun.

“Dreadlock hairstyles should have a real business casual style, like in low ponytails or buns,” Loving stated. “Your appearance in the business world should be an example of who you are.”

Many JSU students feel that any hairstyle is okay in the corporate world as long as you have it styled well and well groomed.

Joshua Edwards, a senior journalism and media studies major from Tulsa, Okla., feels that most business places only accept low haircuts, but they should also give people with dreads a chance.

“According to corporate standards, low cuts, fades, and bald fades are normal and okay to have around, but to me, dread hairstyles should be more inclusive in corporate America and shouldn’t be looked down on,” Edwards states.

Dillard Mccoy, a junior with a major in business management from Shreveport, La., feels that your hair style does not matter that much in the workplace if you look presentable.

“Your hairstyle doesn’t matter much to me as long as you keep it cut and neat,” Mccoy said.

The question remains, can a person be discriminated against because of their hairstyle.

In the United States, discrimination based on hair texture is a form of social injustice that has been predominantly experienced by African Americans and predates the founding of the country.

Multiple states and local governments have passed laws that prohibit such discrimination. California was the first state to do so in 2019 with the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act (SB 188). As of 2023, twenty states have passed similar legislation, but there is no equivalent law at the federal level.

A federal CROWN act was proposed in 2020, and was passed by the House of Representatives but not the Senate. Another bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in 2021; it was approved by the House in 2022, and awaits consideration in the Senate.

Xscape, SWV, DDG, Halle Bailey and Blac Chyna top trending topics

Aaliyah Jones Staff Writer

Chloe Bailey’s New Album

The internet is swarming with a vast range of opinions on the release of Chloe Bailey’s new album entitled “In Pieces.”

Many people on Twitter are throwing around words and phrases like “flop” and “it’s giving lackluster.” But those comments are rivaled by many saying she sang songs from her heart to theirs. No one can deny that Bailey’s sound is very unique to her and encapsulates her natural dramatic and provocative stage personality within it.

A song on the album called “How Does It Feel” has pulled in most of the negative attention because it features Chris Brown, an R&B star also known for his past abusive relationship with Rihanna. The public is criticizing her for working with a man who has a deep history of being in abusive relationships with women.

Despite having artists like Missy Elliott and Future appear on the album, this negative attention is affecting her projected album sales with her first week sales being 10,000 units sold, charting as 119th on Billboard 200, in comparison to her duo project with her sister, Halle, charting at 16th place.

Despite all the negativity, Bailey shows her resilience during her recent performance by coming back on stage to thank her fans for their support and to tell the “online critics and haters” to kiss her backside.

Kate versus Megan: Coronation Invite Canceled Are the London bridges falling down? It seems the ongoing mild friction between Kate Middleton and Megan Markle is still driving a wedge in royal business.

According to the New York Post, King Charles is scheduled to have his coronation on May 6 and Markle is thought by Tom Bower, to be uninvited by Middleton.

Harry goes into detail about the rift in his recently released memoir, “Spare,” where he goes into some detail about the argument that was started by Middleton days before their wedding, which left Megan in tears. What could possibly be so important? A bridesmaid dress.

Jumping back to the present, it was recently confirmed by Buckingham Palace that Harry will be attending the coronation alone while Markel stays in California.

Candice Owens calls Lizzo’s fans “insane women”

Once again people are trying to bring up Lizzo’s weight because that is supposed to be important these days.

Twitter has been a playground for unsolicited opinions on other people’s personal lives for a while but it is spiking more now than ever. The bodypositive movement, started by plus-sized and disabled people, was formed so that everyone outside of the societal beauty standard felt accepted.

Candice Owens believes the movement is a “death cult of fat acceptance”” and used Lizzo as the prime example of what that looks like. According to Owens, Lizzo’s comments are full of “insane women calling her beautiful.”

She, in later tweets, tries to pledge that the reason why she is addressing Lizzo is that she “wants attention” despite the fact that Lizzo has yet to say anything towards or about Owens in response.

Live Action Lilo and Stitch

Lilo and Stitch , the childhood classic is being swept up in the live-action remake that Disney has created recently. I can tell you now, no one is against this idea because fans are shaking in anticipation of the final product. The only damper in the mood for some comes from who Disney announced to play Nani, Lilo’s older sister. Native Hawaiian Sydney Agudong has been announced to play Nani in the live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch and many are unhappy with this decision.

What’s the issue? Isn’t she Hawaiian? Yes, Sydney is Hawaiian but many would not know that based on her appearance, which is why fans are upset. In the movie, Lilo, Nani, and many other characters are drawn with deep brown skin and round wide noses. Sydney is a lighterskinned Hawaiian.

Many recognize that accurate representation of Hawaiian culture is important regardless of who’s representing it, which is fair. But many also think it’s highly important to depict darker-skinned people in live actions as close to reality as possible for proper representation and contextual understanding.

Lilo and Nani are both dark-skinned native Hawaiian people which already lack wide media representation. If they were to make Nani a lighterskinned Hawaiian that would mean they’d have to change almost all of the other cast members to make it look like the community represented in the original depiction.

Darkskin Hawaiian natives already lack representation and it wouldn’t be wise in today’s social climate to try and remove what little representation they already have.

The views expressed in this trending topics column are those of the writer(s) and in no way represent the views of The Blue & White Flash.

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