Beauty
This is not just a hair issue, this is a Civil Rights issue.
Time and again, we have seen the ripple effect of white supremacy in Black beauty.
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman wrote alettercalling for Senate leadership to include the CROWN Act in its end-of-year funding legislation.
This is not just a hair issue, this is a Civil Rights issue.
Hair-based discrimination remains a source of racial injustice with serious economic consequences for Black people, stated Coleman.
Ive spoken with Black women all over the country for their reaction to the recent setback.
The common theme between them all is a spirit of loneliness.
It’s an exhausting feeling to be hyper aware of the very thing that makes you who you are.
To police a Black woman’s hair, is to police her purpose, and dim her God-given light.
No one has the right to do that to anyone, ever.
However, not surprising.
Black women should be free to wear our hair any way we choose.
The way it grows from our head should not be up for debate.
Were literally being told, you could be discriminated against for how you wear your hair.
And she would get sew-ins; she wasnt even wearing her natural hair.
I will continue to rock my natural hair, and I will not be apologetic about it.
I was one of the two.
At this point in my life, I was working through transitioning my hair from relaxed to completely natural.
I wore my hair in very neat twists and twist-outs.
It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling.
We shouldnt have to.
Rayja Will
Columbus, OH
Social Media Content Creator
In all honesty, it’s disheartening.
It hurts to know that my people in their most natural and authentic states aren’t accepted.
Interestingly enough, these rules almost always only affected Black students.
My hair in its most natural state is not extreme, distracting, or unprofessional.
My braids and twists arent meant to gain attention but simply to protect my hair.
I should in no way have to conform to be accepted in the workplace or in an educational setting.
I should be accepted the way that I was created, in my most natural and authentic state.
To strip me of my crown is to strip me of my culture.
The fact that we are having to fight against race-based hair discrimination is so heartbreaking.
Its telling us that we dont belong, and this is untrue.
We are humans that are just as valuable as anyone else.
Our hair is what representsus.We should not be penalized for that.
I envision a future where we wear our natural hair without others imposing limitations and stipulations on our hair.
I envision a future where we do not have to change our hair to fit in or be accepted.
I envision a future where young Black girls proudly and boldly embrace their natural hair.
Our hair is a part of who we are, and we will walk in freedom.
A part of me doesnt want to lean into the apathy that resignation elicits.
I did not expect it to pass, but I am still disappointed.
Not having the CROWN Act be passed statewide makes me feel angry, disappointed, but not surprised.
There is a pattern in this country where Black Women only matter when there is an important election.
This would have been an amazing opportunity to show that Black women matter in this country beyond the polls.
TaylorBickham
Director of Social, The Shaderoom Teens
Its not just about showing up for national elections.
Its disappointing that The Crown Act has been blocked for a second time.
Ive had my share of anti-Black hair experiences, as I attended predominantly white schools in Brooklyn.
My mother, who immigrated to the states from Jamaica in the 1970s, felt the same.
I say all this to say, we should be able to love our hair freely and without fear.
We shouldnt have to change our outer appearance in the name of making ourselves more digestible to the public.
Presentation, although important, should not be a precedent for competence.
I will ensure that my daughter loves her curls and embraces them from a very young age.
I hope that the Senate will wake up and do the right thing one day.
That coming to society as a Black woman with kinky hair is unbearable.
I hope that justice is found soon and that discrimination in the office and schools is abolished completely.
Every kink, curl, or knot in your strands will signify that you are golden.
And she is right.
Totally offended and shocked, I remember calling my mother for advice.
That situation still stings today for me.
It appears as if our authentic selves just aren’t good enough for society and that hurts.
