black hair politics
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Non-Compliant: The War Against Black Students' Hairstyles Continues
When it comes to finding low-maintenance hairstyles for our children that are school-appropriate, it’s beginning to seem we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. Last week, a video of a first-grader in Florida being turned away from his first day of school because of his dreadlocks sparked viral outrage and discussion; this week,…
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The Dress Code Is Discrimination? First Grader Denied His First Day of School for Dreadlocks
Imagine this: You escort your son to his first day of first grade, all buttoned up in his brand new uniform and eager to begin the school year, only to be turned away because your child has dreadlocks. That’s what happened to Clinton Stanley and his son, Clinton Jr., when they arrived for their first…
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Bundles or a Bag of Chips? Would You Buy Hair from a Weave Vending Machine?
We don’t know if this is pure genius or just plain hilarious, but apparently there’s a niche market for weave-related impulse buys. Earlier this week, a viewer of Washington, D.C.’s local CBS affiliate WUSA9 Tweeted into the station’s “The Most DC Thing” segment to report the unusual sighting of a vending machine for bundles of…
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'I Really Stepped Into Myself': Lena Waithe Says Cutting Her Hair Liberated Her from Gender Norms
Lena Waithe doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for who she is, how she loves or why she cut her famous locs last month; but the writer, actress and producer graciously gave one to Vanity Fair’s cameras while on the red carpet for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Grants Banquet on Thursday night. After joking that…
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Nappily Ever After: Sanaa Lathan's Netflix Original Untangles Our Issues With Hair
A woman’s identification with her hair can be a powerful thing, but for a black woman, it is a tangled identity fraught with the ongoing effects of racism, respectability politics and beauty standards that have historically marginalized our hair along with everything else. With the rise of the natural hair movement, it’s sometimes easy to…
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International I Love Braids Day Brings Black Self Love to Brooklyn
Debra Hare-Bey is a proud and self-proclaimed “braider”—by trade and tradition. In fact, the Brooklyn native has been braiding for decades—she recalls being “that girl,” on the stoop braiding people’s hair. Years later, Hare-Bey decided to make a career out of braiding. After all, braids—and the rich culture and traditions from which the styles come—are…
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Naturally Beautiful: The Best of CurlFest 2018
What happens when 25,000 natural hair aficionados get together? CurlFest, that’s what! On Saturday, July 21, #TeamNatural gathered in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Prospect Park for the world’s biggest—and most beautiful—celebration of natural hair. Celebrating its fifth successful year, CurlFest 2018 was a multiethnic, all ages and genders-welcome event that boasted all types of textures, hues and…
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Grab Your Girls and Celebrate Your Curls: CurlFest Returns to Brooklyn This Saturday!
New York naturalistas, where you at? If you’re a devoted member of #TeamNatural, you’re hopefully already familiar with the experiential marketing group known as the Curly Girl Collective, and if you live in the New York City tri-state area, this is the weekend to take part in the largest celebration of natural hair in the…
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Fresh Cuts: Lena Waithe Loses Her Locs!
Sometimes, you just gotta let it all go … which is exactly what writer, producer and actor Lena Waithe did over the weekend when she traded her trademark locs with shaved sides for a low fade with a curved side part, created by Barber Doll the Slayer. While we can’t guarantee that this transformation will…
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U.S. Navy Ends Ban on Dreadlocks for Women
The U.S. Navy is joining other branches of the armed forces, including the Marines, the Army and the Air Force, and putting an end to its ban on dreadlocks for the women who serve our country. The Huffington Post reports that the Navy announced the lift on its ban during a live broadcast on its…