A woman in the U.S. military wearing Sisterlocks is told that she must choose between her hair and her career.....
An engineer for a major automobile maker thinks that she would be frowned upon if she were to wear her natural hair in her workplace....
The year is 1965 right? Not even close, the year is 2007 and unfortunately we live in a society where appearance matters SO much that being who you are naturally, as a black woman, is considered inappropriate in the working world.
I could spend years ranting on about the focus on appearance and sex appeal in this country as a whole, but I'm sure that everyone already recognizes what is considered to be beautiful. If you are a woman that is tall and thin, with long flowing blonde hair and blue eyes, you are considered to be the "all-american girl." But what about those of us who are short, with stove pipe legs, curvy hips, and nappy hair? Am I less American because I look this way?
I am very lucky. I work in an environment where my hair is always covered so the issue of hairstyle is not a problem for me personally. Knowing how outspoken I can be though, I imagine that if I were challenged on my job over my hair, there would be no stopping me as I climbed through the ranks of managers and executives to protect my right to be me....naturally me.
There is hope however, for those of you who are fighting this battle. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the laws that prohibit employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, sex, age, etc. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from being discriminated against not only because of race, but also those characteristics like hair texture that are linked to a person's race.
As black women, we may never, unfortunately, be seen as the "all-american girl," but we sure as hell can fight for our right to be treated as one!!! We are at an ideal period of time to rise up and challenge our political leaders as we are potentially entering a new era of diversity in leadership. The presidential race is on in addition to local and state races in 2008. Perhaps it is time to bring these types of issues to the forefront as I do not know of any other race of individuals that are expected to chemically alter their appearance to be considered "appropriate and acceptable" in the workplace.
The good news is simply that if you are faced with this issue, you do indeed have legal grounds to be who you are so... BE SISTAH BE!!
Check out these resources for help!
The American Civil Liberties Union
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
and of course we all love Al Sharpton and The National Action Network
Where In The World Are You??
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I went to 2.5 hours interview (QC Plant Facilitator) today and came up the conclusion that chemical/food manufacturing plants are catching on to natural hair. A QC employee had a rather large chunky afro. At my current job a young lady was hired in the department with traditional dreadlocks and a male engineer was hired with designed cornrows. I think working with chemicals and knowing about products is the factor, because a lot of the white females skip dying and perming their hair in chemical settings. Maybe somebody could present a list of ingredients of relaxers along with some MSDS sheets to those that are making these hair decisions.
I love reading your blog, you are so insightful!~
And you travel and frequently step out of your comfort zone....you are my kinda Gal!
Luckily I do not have to deal with the politics of Nappy Hair since I am my own boss. I work for myself and I can look like what ever I want. My patients were digging the TWA and that I took a step to be me the way god made me.
Today I had a new patient, a sister and I went in and introduced myself as "Hello, I am Dr. Robinson, a Black little baby dread loc'd dentist." The patient rolled on the floor laughing!
Ha ha ha!!! You crack me up!! Because of my travels I live far away from friends and family so it will be so exciting to be able to debut a new look when I see them...especially since it will probably be months before I see some of my friends.
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