ALL ABOUT HAIR

TEXT BY MAIYA TANÉ PHOTOS BY EDI H. DOH AND CASSANDRA DUMAY

Attendees of the NABJ Convention and Career Fair show their natural hairstyles. Clockwise from above: Sarah Kazadi-Ndoye, Nadirah Simmons, Jalsa Drinkard, Briana Collier, SeMaj Musco, Taylor Gilchrist and Nana aba Duncan.

Across the nation, 22 states have passed the Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair or CROWN Act, but Alabama is not one of them. The legislation prohibits race-based discrimination based on hair texture and styling.

Birmingham is known for its Southern traditions and formalities which include strict standards for Black women’s hair.

Karmen Perry, a Birmingham hair stylist and owner of the salon Lavish Lounge Suites, said the traditional hair standards stop many of her clients from wearing their natural curly hair to work.

“Overall they like me to press their hair out and wear it in more of a flow,” Perry said. “I have a lot of clients who are doctors and lawyers, and in that field they feel like their hair is perceived better when it’s pressed out versus in its natural curly pattern.”

Black women often experience hair discrimination in the workplace. Bria Chatman is a news anchor at WBRC FOX6 in Birmingham. She said anchors must consider how people may react before selecting a hairstyle.

“We have to make sure our hair is right because that’s part of our presentation,” Chatman said. “You know, I’m on TV, so I have to make sure that I look good, I present well because any little thing, no matter what the story is, they want to see how I look.”

Hair maintenance comes at a cost. When it comes to natural hair, there are two main factors clients consider: time and money. Chatman said that some days styling her hair can throw off her morning routine.

“I’ve got to get out the door, she said. “Drying my hair in the morning, that takes a while. My hair is usually soaking wet.”

To save time some women in Birmingham are choosing to wear their hair straightened or tucked away in wigs and braids.

“I’ve got a lot to consider,” Chatman said. “I usually lean towards those because I can just wake up, take the scarf off, even if I do work out and just still get out the door.”

Braided or straightened hair styles can be more convenient and cost effective. Perry said that many of her clients are choosing another style to cut down on their spending.

“It’s a little costly coming in a lot to get your hair pressed out”, she said. “They’re trying to figure out, by going back to a relaxer, would it have helped them in their everyday life?”

Hair relaxers are making a comeback in Birmingham. Perry said she’s already seeing women go back to the controversial style, which is a chemical process that permanently changes hair to loosen curls or straighten them completely.

The future of women’s hair in Birmingham is still being decided. The CROWN Act is still working its way through Alabama’s legislature. Until then the question remains women will decide for themselves to wear their natural hair or bring back relaxers.

“Over this past week I had about six of my clients asking me how I feel about doing relaxers on their hair,” Perry said. “I’m good with either way they want to do it as long as they stick to a regimen and the hair is not breaking off.”

BY LENTHEUS CHANEY

NABJ has been remembering broadcast pioneer and NABJ founder William Dilday this week after he died July 27 at age 85.

Fellow founders recalled their experiences with Dilday at the Founders Reception at the NABJ convention in Alabama on Friday evening.

In 1972 Dilday made history as the first Black manager of a network-affiliated television station, WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi. Under his leadership, the station became No. 1 in the Nielsen and Arbitron ratings, according to NABJ. Twelve years later, Dilday joined WJTV-TV as general manager and executive vice president.

During his long career, Dilday served as a board member of the National Association of Television Broadcasters and the National Broadcasting Company Affiliate Board. He served as a member of the Con- gressional Black Caucus Communication Task Force, as well as a founding member of the 100 Black Men.

Dilday received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Peabody Award, the National Mental Health Association Media Award, and two Iris Awards from the National Association of Television Program Executives.

NABJ Founder Allison Davis, former NABJ President Barbara Ciara and veteran correspondent and anchor Randall Pinkston remembered Dilday’s legacy and impact on journalism.

Dilday, according to Davis, opened doors for people who looked like him and placed them in positions of power.

“Bill Dilday was the first black general manager. So, for him, you know, he was responsible not only for a station,” Davis said. “Bill was also responsible for making sure that he could pave the way for other black managers, general managers of stations.”

Ciara said that she recalls Dilday as a humble man who didn’t relish being the center of attention.

“He was the type of individual who, you know, you couldn’t shower him with too much praise,” Ciara said. “He would smile and then kind of gently move the subject onto something else, not highlighting his own contributions.”

Pinkston, who was being inducted into the NABJ Hall of Fame this week, said that he was hired by Dilday right out of college when he was 23 years old despite it being a risky decision.

He appointed a 23-year-old kid out of the Columbia summer journalism program,” Pinkston said. “[A] huge risk because [a] 23-year-old black guy running the main newscast, he did it.”

Calling Dilday a “trailblazer” and “gem of NABJ,” President Dorothy Tucker said in a statement,

“He will never be forgotten,” she said.

Dilday is survived by his wife, Maxine, his daughters Erika and Kenya, son Scott Sparrow, brothers James and Clarence, and four grandchildren. Services for Dilday will be held Aug. 9 at 11 a.m. at Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts.