On a transparent Friday night, 30 younger Black girls and ladies received collectively, to not assist the hometown highschool soccer crew, or to go to a pal’s sleepover, however to attend one of many hottest events on the town at The Black Hair Expertise in Atlanta. The attendees mentioned their experiences with their hair each the nice and the unhealthy, to lastly obtain self-acceptance. All whereas being chronicled by NBC’s In the present day Present!
Final month, Black Women Smile held a workshop to brazenly handle how our hair experiences have affected our vanity, relationships, and our capacity to beat and construct group. Many wouldn’t consider how a dialog about hair may result in such deep insights, nevertheless it does!
Our aesthetics is our first presentation to the world and the way the world in flip makes assumptions about our character. Black girls have lower, curled, teased, relaxed, dyed and in some circumstances fried their hair into submission to suit a regular of magnificence that was by no means meant for them. Younger Black girls and ladies have spent hours on a Saturday ready to get their hair finished, spent 1000’s of {dollars} on hair merchandise that at the moment are being recognized as dangerous to their well being, all to be revered and accepted.
The workshop individuals performed video games that supplied perception about their very own hair experiences and people of the ladies and ladies round them. They have been additionally in a position to tour the interactive museum that gave a historic context of the Black hair journey by way of the years. Dr. Ayanna Abrams led workouts that supplied instruments to help with self-acceptance and worthiness. One of many massive takeaways was that our distinctive hair journey has instilled a way of group amongst us. Irrespective of how previous, the socioeconomic background or upbringing there was one shared expertise—in some unspecified time in the future the individuals had been instructed that their hair was both unhealthy or tough which left emotional scars and wounds that in some nonetheless haven’t utterly healed. However there may be hope— the brand new era of younger Black girls are difficult and embracing their very own ideology of magnificence that features straight and pure hairstyles. They’re extra targeted on what they consider is correct for them than the acceptance of others. This shift has additionally spilled into laws.
The Crown Act, a legislation that prohibits discrimination based mostly on hair texture and coiffure has been adopted in 19 states and continues to be the single-most laws to cease punishment in colleges and the office which extra extensively impacts Black and Brown communities. Erin Goldson from Unilever educated the individuals on the Crown Act and its significance to the worldwide dialog about hair and the unjust disciplinary actions taken due to it.
The night was crammed with so many laughs and at occasions some tears, however for positive this was a memorable expertise for all in attendance.
Watch the In the present day Present section on how Black Women Smile was in a position to construct group by speaking about hair right here.
Wish to proceed the dialog, use the hashtag #MyCrownIsMyGlory and inform us your hair expertise.
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