black hair politics
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Does This Haircut Look Hypocritical? Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Eschews Social Distancing for a Shape-Up
She’s the face of Chicago—and in recent weeks, the star of countless memes since sternly yet effectively locking down the nation’s third-largest city in hopes of containing the coronavirus outbreak. But while Mayor Lori Lightfoot has successfully gotten Chicagoans to “stay home [and] save lives,” the popular politician caught more than a few side-eyes when…
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Wigging Out: How Ari Lennox, Snoop and an Unsolicited Opinion Became an Affirmative Moment
Folks, we have a lot of time on our hands these days—OK, too much—which means a lot us are spending way too much time on the interwebs, weighing in on shit that has zero to do with our own personal wellbeing. Case in point: singer/songwriter/social media regular and known naturalist Ari Lennox couldn’t even crowdsource…
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It's a 'Du': Leave It to Rihanna to Epitomize Self-Isolation Style While Staging a Fashion First
As if we needed another excuse not to style our hair while self-isolating, Rihanna has provided the perfect one. With her most recent British Vogue cover, the 32-year-old fashion icon, entertainer and mogul reminded us she’s always one step ahead of a major cultural moment, sporting a durag (also fondly known as a “do-rag”) for…
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Self Made and Snatching Wigs: How Netflix's Madam C.J. Walker-Inspired Series Authentically Styled Black Hair on Set
She did everything with the products that would have been available to Madam. She didn’t use hot combs, when she rolled the hair it would be with a paper bag or with cloth. So she was very innovative in how she styled me. — Octavia Spencer text Madam C.J. Walker is a history-making black woman.…
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Virginia Becomes the Latest State to Ban Hair Discrimination: 'It Is Not What We Stand For'
File this under the exceedingly slim folder labeled “Good News in 2020″: Virginia has become the first Southern state to ban hair discrimination, a law that disproportionately impacts black people and their ability to wear their hair as they please. As CNN reports, the Commonwealth is now the fourth state in the country to pass…
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The Big Payback: Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade and Matthew Cherry Give Hair Love to Student Told to Cut Dreadlocks to Walk at Graduation
Texas high schooler Deandre Arnold may not be walking with his graduating class at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, this year, but he will be walking the red carpet on Oscars night, thanks to Hair Love director Matthew Cherry, producers Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, and personal care brand Dove. Deandre, a…
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In Her First House Appearance Since Her Radical Reveal, Ayanna Pressley Was Bald and Beautiful
In the midst of an impeachment trial that is fraught with obfuscation, transparency in politics is a rare and beautiful thing. So, too, is the bravery it took for Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) to trust The Root with the recent disclosure that she has alopecia and had been wearing wigs to hide her bald head…
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Taraji P. Henson Wants to Be the ‘Fenty’ of Haircare
Howard University, aka “The Mecca,” has been known to produce greatness, and one of those products is none other than Taraji P. Henson. The multi-hyphenated talent is adding another notch to her belt with her new haircare line, TPH by Taraji. “I want to be the Fenty of hair,” Henson joked at her “Hair Dare…
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A Texas Student Told to Cut His Dreadlocks If He Wants to Walk at Graduation
It’s not unusual for schools to have dress codes. I remember my school basically saying don’t wear gang insignia, baggy pants, “If you see the police, WARN A BROTHER!” shirts and things of that nature. A high school in Texas has a dress code, though, that doesn’t seem to account for black hair. CBS News…
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Interviewing Ayanna Pressley About Her Alopecia Encouraged Me to Go Public With Mine
I didn’t expect to get choked up in front of Ayanna Pressley. But 17 minutes into our interview at The Root headquarters in New York City on Monday, as she began telling me one of her most personal hair stories by detailing her experience with alopecia, I blinked through tears and silently reflected on my…