Black Hair—Some thoughts
It has come to my attention that schools are forbidding Black girls from wearing weaves, braids, dreds, naturals, etc. In other words, they are demanding the “white” standard for Black hair. More recently, in Florida, a student was suspended for her hair until her parents could challenge the rule. She wore a very attractive natural curl style. No school should tell a student that they must abandon their heritage and imulate whites if that child is not not white.
Apart from the monetary expense of wearing the Black hair straightened or processed, this “white” standard for the Black person, i.e. ‘you must look just like me” is wrong. Additionally, it raises the legal issue of discrimination and denial of equal protection. These rules are wrong and are a return to slavery when Blacks aspired to look more white before the Black is Beautiful Movement. They are offensive and send the wrong message to Black girls. It says they are inferior in their natural state. They are not enough. Black is ugly and not good. I thought we were past this in 2017.
I am reminded that as a child my hair was not straightened. My mother would not allow me to use a permanent or hair dye until I left home. My sisters and I wore braids when we were young. Most Blacks wore braids until their teens in my day. I am reminded of an incident that I walked upon in my computer class. Some whites and a Black were talking about Beyonce’s daughter. One white said, “She does not comb her hair or take care of her daughter.” The Black women in the class and I did not respond. Gabby Douglas who won a gold medal was criticized for her hair even though she won the gold. Having been a missionary and lived with whites, I immediately knew what the problem was. The whites did not know where to take her to get her hair done and if they did know, they were afraid to take her there. So as a result, her hair needed some attention. I did not speak up then.
It strikes me now that we have come full circle even as Blacks when we criticize each other for not looking more white. No Black or white would have dared make this comment to my generation who cut off their processed hair and wore the afro proudly. “I am Black and I am proud was our slogan.” We have become confused about our standard of beauty. I assumed that the criticism of Beyonce’s daughter was addressed by her Beehive fans. No comment was necessary. I was proud of Beyonce as a mother and the way she treated her daughter’s hair. I thought Chris Rock had laid this “good hair” issue to rest. Maybe this Florida case opens up a new conversation. Should organizations and schools be demanding that our Black children be and look more white to be accepted in their schools and organizations? If they do, should Blacks be attending these schools? This dress and hair code is a symbol or represents other discriminatory practices of the school against Blacks and minorities. #Mayfieldforjustice.org. I personally think this is a return to Jim Crow. These rules are discriminatory and violate the equal protection and due process rights of our Black children. No one can change their skin color or hair structure. This is how they were born.
When I was young, I could not press my hair or wear a permanent. My hair was as thin as a sheet of paper. I could wash my hair and roll it on rollers and this was sufficient. I guess using their standard, this would be “good hair.” It looked more white. I hated it. I longed for the thickness of a Whoopie Goldberg. Richard Pryor would have called someone out and embarrassed them if they had brought up this issue in our day. MLK, Stokeley Carmichael and others would have been offended. They wore their Black tresses proudly. Have we come full circle that white society and institutions can cry out that we return to the old ways and not be proud and show our Blackness. What message are we sending our Black children when we try to conform to these standards. Must we tell them that they must now hide their Blackness and try to be white to be accepted?
Collon Kaepernick raised a conversation last year when he refused to stand for the flag that we must now address. There are issues in America that must be addresses regarding racial equality and justice that we can no longer ignore. If Blacks are perceived to be equal, there would not be demands that our children divorce themselves of their Blackness. This leaves open the issue of skin color. Do these schools also prefer the lighter Black skin color? This hair issue raises an issue of the underlying issue of racial equality in the schools and a return of Jim Crow. We see this reflected in the Alt-Right speech of returning to separate but equal days and openly espousing white supremacy. This is not the message that we want to send to our Black children that something is wrong with them because they have Black skin and hair. We do not want to tell them that they are inferior because of their race or skin color. “They are not enough and they can never be enough unless they are white or look more white.” MLK used to say, “I can never be who and what I was meant to be, unless you are who you were meant to be.” We must look at these dress codes and hair standards of these schools as they violate Title IX, a federal law.
P.S. People should read my book, I Am Not Beneath the Law, to see the evolution of some of these ideas.
