Caused by the uniquely flat shape of the follicle, Afro-textured hair is nearly universal in ethnic groups across the African continent, and can also be found among certain peoples in the South Pacific and Oceania. It is thought that the curly shape is an adaptation to hot climates, since it allows for a better dissipation of heat, as opposed to straight hair which is better at retaining heat. Though there is no true consensus on the origins of the hair’s unique characteristics, the societal significance of Afro-textured hair is very clear. Discrimination against hairstyles natural to African-Americans has been of particular concern in recent years, but the practice has existed since the very beginning of the African diaspora in North America.
The various tribes of West Africa, the place of origin of the vast majority of African-Americans, had varying traditions and customs associated with one’s hair. Long, intricate braided hairstyles were often used to denote wealth or status within the tribe, and could be a source of pride for an individual. Not unlike other cultures, the more ornate one’s hairstyle, the important that person likely was. However, after the capture and forced relocation of millions of West Africans during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, male slaves would often have their hair shaven by their new European masters. In addition to being a remedy to the terribly unsanitary conditions endured by the slaves, the shaving of Black hair was meant to remove their individual identity, as well as their cultural one. Female slaves would sometimes also have their head shaven, especially those who were employed in outdoor work. These female field slaves commonly used headwraps to protect against the harsh sunlight, a garment that even became mandatory in some jurisdictions or plantations. Discrimination and regulation of Black hair became just one of many tools employed by slaveowners to remove the slave’s identity, and to reduce him or her to mere property rather than an individual.
After the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves in 1865, Afro-textured hair, like many aspects of African-American life, continued to face discrimination long after the chains had been broken. Minstrel shows, a common form of entertainment in America both before and after emancipation, typically featured a white actor donning blackface and an Afro-textured wig. These shows featured songs, plays, sketches, or other acts which caricaturized those of African descent. Jokes made at the expense of Afro-textured hair was among the several ways in which minstrel shows or racist popular entertainment could portray Black Americans as strange, inferior, or even subhuman. Beginning in the 1920s, a new hairstyle known as the “conk” became popular among male African-American leaders and public figures. The style featured an aggressive straightening of the hair, which was usually achieved through the use of a homemade hair relaxer containing lye, a substance capable of causing severe chemical burns if handled improperly. Civil rights leader Malcolm X famously denounced the hairstyle, as he believed a subservience to white society was symbolized in a desire to reject one’s natural hair texture, even at the risk of serious physical harm. Regardless, the notion of straight hair being more “proper” or “professional” continued to exist in American society through Jim Crow movement and beyond.
The rise of the Black Power and Black Pride movements in mid-20th century America prompted a widespread change in the attitudes towards Afro-textured hair in many Black circles. The increasingly popular “Afro” hairstyle became a symbol of pride in one’s heritage, and a defiance to the status quo. Public figures such as popular singer Billy Preston passively helped usher Afros into popular culture, others such as political activist Angela Davis explicitly used the hairstyle as a way of representing the struggle towards racial equality. Discrimination against hairstyles found in Black Americans, activists such as David argued, were symbolic of and fundamentally equivalent to other forms of discrimination. The Afro was perhaps the first major movement against an American beauty standard largely shaped by white culture and white individuals. Though the Afro eventually fell out of fashion, flat-tops, dreadlocks, cornrows, and a plethora of other natural hairstyles entered mainstream Black culture, thanks mainly to Black public figures who embraced them, even if they faced intense backlash from both in and outside the community.
Even decades after the initial movement towards an embracing of Afro-textured hair, it can be argued that discrimination against natural hairstyles continued to exist in schools and workplaces throughout America. These institutions typically claim a certain standard of proper dress, which, in their eyes, makes no room for certain hairstyles which embrace the individual’s natural hair texture. Rogers v. American Airlines, a federal court case in 1981, upheld a American Airlines dress code that banned the braided cornrows of one its employees, Renee Rogers. Rogers cited Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans workplace or employment discrimination on the basis race, and argued that a ban on her cornrows constituted racial discrimination*. Cornrows, Rogers argued, were culturally significant to Black Americans due to its history and featuring of natural African hair texture. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of American Airlines, rejecting the cultural significance of cornrows, and asserting that because Rogers’ hair could technically be altered, it could be subject to regulation by an employer. The ruling in Rogers is now subject to much criticism and debate from modern scholars, with many seeing the court’s interpretation of Title VII as too narrow, and that it did not appropriately consider the cultural factor behind Rogers’ hairstyle.
The CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act was signed into law by California governor Gavin Newsom in 2019, the first act explicitly banning discrimination in any state. Similar legislation has been passed in various other states, including New York, the state in which Renee Rogers first faced bans against her hair. Louisiana, a state with a troubling history of race relations, became the first to mandate training and familiarity with Afro-textured to become a licensed barber in its state. As of August 2022 a CROWN Act at the federal level has passed through the House of Representatives, and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. This is the second time the CROWN Act was introduced to the US Congress, but a Senate vote against it in 2021 ended the bill’s first attempt at being passed into law. Though the fight against discrimination against Afro-textured hair may seem to be reaching its end, the significance of hair in shaping Black culture and American race relations will likely continue for the time being, just as it has done for generations.
*Discrimination on the basis of sex was also claimed, as the banning of cornrows was alleged to have affected neither white nor Black men.
History for Empathy 