Is It Because of My Locs?
posted by DorMiya Vance | March 5, 2021 | In Arts and Culture, NewsBeing natural has come with some social difficulties. Try not to being influenced by a culture where “fake” bodies are normalized and the essence of the natural physique is pushed to the side instead of embraced.
It starts with the plastic bodies and, even, trickles down to the hairstyles and whether the hair on your head is “yours” or not. Even though we live in a culture where it seems like being plastic, or unreal, is the new way of life, local cities in North Carolina have put emphases on natural and protective styles, making them less “offensive” to people in the workplace.
Recently, there have been ordinances passed to protect individuals who wear dreadlocks, braids or protective styles, and afros. In the cities of Durham and Greensboro, the city councils voted to put a stop to the discrimination from employers towards these individuals.
Before these ordinances were being put into effect, Black people, especially Black women, have dealt with this “form of racial discrimination” for years, decades even. Many of these hairstyles not only encourage individuals to express themselves but some of these hairstyles are rooted in the culture of Black people. These styles tell stories and are seen everywhere throughout African American history.
The Durham County District Attorney, Santana Deberry, who was once a victim of discrimination when a court clerk told her to reconsider wearing her, natural, short afro.
“There’s probably a very, very small percentage of Black women who can tell you that they haven’t felt some form of discrimination based on how they’ve chosen to wear their hair” Deberry expressed, as reported by WTVD.
With Durham being in the group of firsts to prohibit hair-based discrimination, NC is opening doors to a more inclusive and open-mined state for its natural-haired residents and employees. Fayetteville, NC is now considering to adapt a similar policy for its natural-haired community. The CROWN Act, or ‘Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair’ Act, has recently been discussed by Councilwomen Shakeyla Ingram, Tisha Waddel, and Courtney Banks-McLaughlin and there plans to further evaluate the policy.
With the possibility of implementing this policy, it would “prohibit discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and fair housing access. The ‘protected hairstyles’ would include any hairstyle, hair type, or hair texture historically associated with race, including braids, locks, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, Bantu Knots, and afros” because, according to Councilwoman Banks-McLaughlin, “that should be the biggest thing. What you can bring to the table, your work ethic. Not the way you wear your hair.”
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