BLACK WOMEN VOICES

YOU ARE ENOUGH. I AM NOT MY HAIR

BY NICOLE HEROUX WILLIAMS I PHOTOS BY NSP STUDIO BY DR TUNYA GRIFFIN

Alexis Arnold says, I Am Not My Hair | Alexis Arnold Shuts Down Hater Over Her Natural Hair!

Chante Griffin writes, “Anti-black hair sentiment on U.S. soil has existed for centuries. In the 1700s, enslaved women who worked in the fields usually covered their hair in headrags due to the harsh demands of their work. Enslaved Africans who worked in the “big house,” however, sometimes mimicked the hairstyles of their enslavers, either by wearing wigs that had become popular during that era or shaping their kinky hair to emulate them. In cities like New Orleans, however, where free Creole women of color donned elaborate hairstyles that displayed their kinks and coils with an air of regality, the city implemented laws—the Tignon Laws—that required these women to wear a tignon (scarf or handkerchief) over their hair to signify that they were members of the slave class, regardless of whether they were free or enslaved.”

India.Arie sings, I am not my hair, I am not this skin I am not your ex-pec-tations no no I am not my hair, I am not this skin I am the soul that lives within

Arie is pointing out the historical roots of why certain Black American hairstyles are more acceptable and considered more beautiful than others. Today with tools like relaxers, hot combs, rollers, and many others, Black women can transform their hair to more closely resemble white hair. Standards of beauty in America are based on whiteness, so this is what is considered “good hair”.

Let’s take a walk back down memory

lane Another writer added, “At the end of the 19th century saw the invention of the hair-straightening comb, which would be used to “tame” black hair. Madam C.J. Walker, a black woman, popularized the comb, and “by the mid-1920s, straight hair had become the preferred texture to signal middle class status.” As a result, Walker became the first female African American millionaire. Although some historians have lauded Walker’s business acumen, others have chided her for perpetuating the idea that straight hair leads to social and economic advancement. For better or worse, she offered black women an avenue for increased societal acceptance in an era when minstrel songs mocked the hair texture of African Americans, “comparing it to wool and often describing it as nappy.”

School Daze, one of my favorite movies by filmmaker Spike Lee, highlighted the issues black women have with their own hair School Daze, which was written, directed and stars Spike Lee, is one of the most important movies for people to watch. If you want to understand colorism and its affects on black people, in particular black women, then I would recommend watching School Daze.

The lyrics, “Talkin bout good and bad hair, whether you’re dark or your fair “

Alexis Arnold is one black woman who is changing the hair game rules “My hair on my terms!” Rochester anchor and reporter Alexis Arnold just proved that a black women’s choice of hairstyle is nobody else’s business. When a natural hair shamer criticized Arnold for wearing her natural hair on air, leaving a voicemail telling her to “do a little something with your hair because it looks kind of rough.”

“Anti-black hair sentiment on U.S. soil has existed for centuries. In the 1700s, enslaved women who worked in the fields usually covered their hair in head-rags due to the harsh demands of their work.”

How someone could find it in themselves to get up the nerve to make this type of disgusting comment at someone is beyond us, but apparently this troll felt it necessary to insult a black woman’s hair. Arnold decided to share the message with the public, while swiftly shutting down the rude commenter on Facebook.

Here was her response:

Amen to that, Alexis!

This isn’t the first time that natural hair has become a hot topic of discussion. That because, for black women, hair dos are about much more than personal choice. They have become issues with both social and political implications that can have a deep impact many all aspects of her life. Just about every black woman has felt self-conscious about her hair at one point or another, and there have been many stories of women who were told that how they choose to wear their hair is inappropriate in professional, academic and even some social environments.

Why? In the world of conventional, European-centric beauty standards, black women’s natural features are considered unattractive, especially their curly to kinky hair. These narrow-minded ideals have left black women not only battling with issues of self-esteem, but struggling to fit into certain societal norms of prevailing hair and beauty standards to be accepted or achieve upward mobility.

When Michelle Obama decided to wear her hair natural — and Oprah and Beyoncé decided to reveal their own hair — women across the country cheered their decision. This helped raise much-needed awareness at a time when millions of black and other women of color still face criticism, stigma and discrimination for wearing their hair in its natural, textured state. Nationwide, there have been numerous cases of black women who have been fired, reprimanded, disqualified, shut out and forced to change their hairstyles.

Thankfully, the tide is turning.

Last year, California became the first state to ban discrimination based on natural hair. Shortly thereafter, New York and then New Jersey followed suit with their own state laws prohibiting bias in the workplace, housing, schools or public spaces based on hair texture, type or style — including braids, twists and locks.

Whether it’s natural, treated, extensions, curly, straight or anything in between, your hair is yours. That means you have the right to wear it the way you want to. So, Alexis, we have your back on this. You’re beautiful and the choice is your own. There’s no room in this world for natural hair shaming or any other negative comments about a black woman’s appearance, period!