People like Imani Jackson, an African American woman with 4a type hair, wore a wig for her scheduled interview. Several weeks into her position, Ms. Jackson was fired for not wearing the same wig she interviewed with.
Notes revealed staff felt she came in with “beautiful hair”, referring to Ms. Jackson’s wig, but then after it looked as if she rolled out of bed. Which could only reference Ms. Jackson’s natural hair. Read here for more.
Racism comes in many forms. Whether it is intentional or in-direct, it’s a disservice to any person of color. It’s to make someone feel less than or unworthy. Incidents like Breonna Taylor, Pamela Turner, Deborah Danner and more prove that racism can also lead to unwarranted arrests and deaths.
We can go down a long list of racist acts against black woman and people of color, but the point of the matter is racism, for African Americans, is real. In this case, had the Chief Operating Officer & the H.R. staff decided to educate themselves on African American hair before judging an African American woman for wearing it, the case could’ve been avoided.
Many black or biracial men and women fall under the type 4 hair category. This is characterized by a kinky Afro hair texture that range from tight coils to Z-angled coils. Many people of color believe this texture of hair doesn’t grow long because of how coarse the hair can be.
However, without correct knowledge and understanding of how to properly take care of type 4 hair, it can lead to damaged hair or hair loss before the age of 35. Wearing protective styles of hair, including wigs, prevents people of color from using damaging products like hair styling gel or perms.
Type 4 hair can be broken down into three subcategories. This is differentiated by alphabets A, B and C. Though they differentiate, they are not that distinguishable from one another. Think of the letter “S”… Now imagine strands of hair following that shape in several patterns. That’s a rough idea of what 4a type hair can look like. Use actress Viola Davis or singer-songwriter, Solange for example.
Ab hair type, unlike 4a, needs just a tad bit more care. This hair type forms a Z curl shape. It’s dense and compact because the curls are smaller. Think of cotton candy, the texture isn’t the same but the compactness of it resembles.
If you’ve ever seen the film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever“, you’ve witness 4c hair type. 4c is typically thicker than both 4a and 4b. You’ll usually see people with this type of hair texture wear creative styles like braiding, dread locs or twists. These hairstyles are also protected by headwear like turbans or scarfs, in some religions.
Whether you educate yourself or not, there are things in place to also protect black women and men from such prejudices like against Ms. Jackson. The CROWN act, which protects against discrimination based on hairstyles, hair textures and protective styles, was created and signed into law in California on July 3, 2019. The bill passed in 2022 and since has become law in 27 states and Washington D.C.
In an interview with Finie Richardson, an instructor and program manager at Howard University based of out Washington D.C., she said “wearing my hair consists of braids and faux locks. Mainly because it isn’t trained. I can come into work with my hair one way and leave it looking another way”. Which is very common with type 4 hair, in fact it has a shrinking capacity of 70 percent when the hair is not stretched out.
When asked how would a situation like Ms. Jackson affect her, had she been in her shoes. Mrs. Richardson responded saying “It’s a tough situation.”, she finishes “I haven’t experienced much discrimination that I am aware of but if it were me, I’d likely follow the same route of Ms. Jackson”.
The case between Ms. Jackson, EEOC & American Screening resulted in American Screening to pay $50,000 to settle the lawsuit. In addition, they must update their policies to prohibit discrimination based on race or characters of race like hair texture.
Many times, incidents like these go overlooked or are never handled properly. There needs to be some call-to-action for researching or educating yourself on things you don’t understand before judging someone. Racism still exists in today’s time. No one should feel less than because of their hair.
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