SPOTLIGHT
These mandates are being added to dress codes and becoming strictly enforced within these institutions.“I feel like it has become more accepted to be downright, upfront and in your face with this discriminating behavior,” Elbert adds. This discrimination can be apparent in both the administration and students, especially in the form of bullying. Alaina Mitchell, senior Social Services major and Black Student Union president says she experienced a bullying situation regarding her hair when she was in middle school. “My mom didn’t know how to manage my curly hair. She would brush it out, and my hair would look very big,” she says. “This girl passed a note around the class calling me ‘poofy’ and all of these other names. All of the other kids caught on to the name, and that was my nickname all throughout my three years of middle school.”
Hair discrimination does not stop at verbal harrassment, sometimes people feel inclined to touch people’s hair just because it is a different texture from their own. Elbert claims she’s had people come up to her and touch her hair, obstructing her personal space, as well as touch her children’s hair. She says that when she drops her son off at daycare, she has to ask the daycare worker to not let anybody touch her son’s hair without her around. Because of the texture of her and her son’s hair, Elbert says that no other parent has to worry about that, but because she’s a BIPOC, she does.
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These are the realities for people who face hair discrimination on a regular basis. Supporting Your Community Supporting your BIPOC classmates and colleagues is one of the first steps to becoming an ally. You can stand up for them in situations where they are being discriminated against and it gives them a voice when they might not have one. When faced with hair discrimination, Elbert says there is no perfect answer to responding. She says when she was an undergraduate student, she would stay quiet and not know how to respond. Now, as an adult, she is not afraid to stick up for herself. Not everybody might feel safe to speak out, but people need to do what they are comfortable with and feel safe doing, says Elbert. How somebody responds to discrimination is their own decision. As allies to BIPOC and other people facing curly hair discrimination, we can consider how safe or unsafe they might feel. If you know somebody who is facing this issue, ask if they are okay and need anything. You could be giving them a voice when they can’t seem to find theirs. Going beyond step one, the next step would be to become involved in local and state advocacy. California and Colorado have both passed the ‘Crown Act’ which makes it illegal to discriminate against someone at work or school over the way they wear their hair. Following in their footsteps, with your support, Washington state could be next on that list. If you want to support your fellow students and community members suffering from hair discrimination, you can visit the Crown Act website to sign the petition and become involved.
