by
Klassy Kinks
I’d hoped 2014 would end without another case of discrimination against loose or loc’ed natural hair in America’s schools and workplaces. Sadly, there’s one more and this time, it’s a fella.
Tamon George, an MBA student and President of the Graduate Student Government Association at the University of the District of Columbia, was recently informed that his dreadlocks were not a permissible hairstyle for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leadership Institute. The conference organizers informed Tamon that he could not attend due to his dreadlocks, in a ban that prevented male attendees from wearing the hairstyle. Damon’s decision to wear dreadlocks represents a commitment to his heritage, as several members of his Caribbean family sport the style and the former Canadian football player has had them for a number of years.
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund is a non-profit that supports students attending HBCUs – not a white private institution that we’d assume would hold the archaic notion that dreadlocks are unprofessional. They’re not the first black institution to do so, as Hampton University previously came under scrutiny for similar dreadlocks and cornrow bans in their MBA program. Ironically, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court, was a staunch advocate of equality in education and was the lawyer behind the infamous Brown v. Board of Education case – so my guess is he’d be disappointed in the Fund’s decision to limit the pursuit of educational advancement to those with certain hairstyles. If you agree, you can sign the Change.org petition against Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s discriminatory ban on dreadlocks for males.
I’m in graduate school myself and just came back from presenting at a conference in Washington, DC on Minority Health. Many attendees and presenters were people of color and a number of the ladies in attendance had their hair in twist outs, updos and curled locs that nicely complimented their business attire. I don’t recall seeing any guys at the conference with dreadlocks, but I can’t imagine why wearing dreadlocks would make their research, knowledge or ability to network any different than the rest of the attendees. I know I’d start a petition real quick if I applied and was accepted to a conference only to later receive an email stating they changed their mind because they didn’t like my hair… #lordgivemestrength
Should black professional organizations have restrictions on hairstyles appropriate for conferences for either gender? What can realistically be done to lift such bans in spaces of higher education?
46 Responses
I had a dread-locksed guy in or MBA class and everyone thought it was quite unique, in fact it was a hit with the girls we guys wanted to sport it too.
Asking our ancestors for help
It probably has more to do with men n business not having long hair and not so much with the locs
You & I both have both seen non-Black men with long hair in suits; what do they do? Gel it, slick it back, & put it in a low ponytail.
If the message of the conference was to edify African American professionals on the dress and groom that is likely to project the image that will be viewed most favorably, wouldn’t they want this young man at their conference to enlighten him? I’m not saying I agree with their assessment but I think their decision to ban this gentleman is at cross purposes with the objective of their conference.
I have no doubt that the intention of the organizers of the conference were altruistic. We are the only people who have to change our physical appearance to “make it”. It is an unfortunate fact, but very disturbing that it is being perpetuated by a black institution. I’m a natural and I decided long ago that I would not work anywhere that wanted me to tone down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being professional and appropriate but when you want me to change the tone of my voice, the texture or size of my hair or regulate me wearing color…I’m out. I work at an HBCU and that’s the environment I plan to stay in.
… Maybe I missed something along the way, but there is always a way to do everything. I love dreads and think a man with dreads is extremely good looking. Doesn’t change the fact that corporate America still views them as undesirable.
I should also note here that there were white males there and they conformed to the rules just like everyone else. No long hair.
You have to get in the system in order to continue to bring about change. Efforts to end discrimination against our people should come from both regular people and people “inside the system”. It has to. In order to get in you have to play by the rules.
The President of TMCF knows the corporations invited were looking for a certain image- dreads weren’t a part of that. Why allow them to the conference if they would cause more harm than good? You guys are coming for the wrong ones- I’m telling you. True, the companies there might have hired someone with dreads but according to info gathered from many different sources, that employee might not advance very high until they cut their hair.
Northwest Pacific Islanders (and many other cultures for that matter) have a steep heritage in tattoos. I Haven’t heard much from them about discrimination against that- just something to think about. It’s not the same thing by any means but there has to be a line somewhere.
Not always true about corporate america’s views of Locs on Men. My brother was hired as the Manager of a Bank with locs. When he cut them, his boss said it was a shame b/c they liked the diversity he represented.
This is stupid..especially being an alum of not one but TWO HBCUS in addition to being a doctor and have and am working throughout many industries with C Level execs that they would tell someone to NOT come to a place to receive information to help. Men with locs ARE accepted in the workplace as with any other organization IF men (of any race) has LONG hair it must be GROOMED. Locs does not indicate being UNGROOMED as with a white dude not appearing like a drugged out ROCK STAR with long hair. I was hired with natural hair with the top consulting firm in the world with a TWA/locs and NEVER had an issue. I just think it is old people stuck in their ways of what Corporate America USE to look like. It is not the same heck CEO/VPS are not even wearing suits anymore. This is disheartening….
Fellow black people please WAKE UP. How can we require the world to treat us fairly when we cannot treat each other fairly? We set the standard for what is acceptable treatment and this sort of behavior lets the world know that it is okay to discriminate against us. The idea to bar this young man should have never left the decision-making room. Someone should have and could have prevented this. Set the example for how others must treat us and perceive us black people. As educational leaders representing a Black icon I hope that this institution will fix this incident…
I agree he is fine! Smart too. I have to add to the discussion in that I believe the people don’t about themselves. Did you know that people are born with locks? The “hairstyle” is a mimicking of what comes naturally to some who are African. Look up Dada (Nigerian term) in conjunction with Nazarene. I don’t agree what the college did, but this would look a lot differently in the dominant white cultured society. No longer do they say we won’t let you in here because you look like such and such for the Civil Rights Legislation took care of that overt racism, but instead they just won’t hire you or will give a hard time and then fire you. Covert racism is in in 2014–At least it was overt verbally in the 1950s-60s.
I hear what you’re saying Veronica, but it’s not 1950-anything anymore. There’s no reason why a person can’t begin their career with a natural hairstyle. We should be past the stage of having to achieve certain professional milestones through conformity and THEN show our natural selves. If everyone decided to be natural and apply to positions as engineers, attorneys, etc., “the establishment” would have no choice but to accept that the hair on black people’s heads is not a defining characteristic or indicator of professional competence….or else they’d just wouldn’t have ANY people of color in their employment. But first we must accept ourselves before we can ask anyone else to accept us.
The quote:
. The conference had strict rules and regulations. If you were not in compliance then you were rejected. The same as any employer would reject any employee who was not what they were looking for. He knew first hand of the rules prior to applying and if not , someone told him during the application process I’m sure. He didn’t comply so this is the consequence. There were many there who were called out because of appearance. But it was out of love. Not discrimination. LOVE! NOT DISCRIMINATION.
You know, this sounds like the lovely garbage that Guilani was spewing the other day- if only Blacks respected the law, why, you would not need white police officers to shoot you!”
Dude is an MBA student. He will finish and then be picked up by another a company eager to have a fresh diverse voice OR he will start his own company.
Screw them! I’m tired of people discriminating against us just for the way we look. If we try and style our hair in a “white manner,” we’re discriminated against. If we wear our hair in old school, traditional black hair styles, we get criticized. Everything we do is judged and I’m sick of this crap.
Do you see us complaining when white people come in with crazy hairstyles? No! Instead other people will cite the hairstyle as being “creative” or “unique.”
And the fact that we’re discriminating against our own is despicable. We should be rooting for one a other in everything. If we don’t, who will?
And on a lighter note, da*n that is one fine man 😉
Wow this truly saddens me. We are already in a racial divide & it’s more sickening when blacks divide us even further. The sad truth is he will more than likely have to cut his hair if he wants to get a job somewhere smh.
I went to that!! As an attendee I feel obligated to say something.
As an attendee, I can say that information gained was for our benefit. The atmosphere was one of tough love. I saw many natural sisters and their hair was gorg, but there were no brothers with long hair. I saw a few loc’d sisters, but their hair was pulled into an updo. Reason being, the recruiters there were looking for a certain image. The entire point of conference was to prove that African Americans can be and are just as qualified as our white counterparts. That being said there was a lot of talk about how to bring one’s ENTIRE self to certain environments that may not be so willing to welcome you. The training received there taught how to bring heritage to the workplace. Many of the powerful black men and women there fit a certain image and if they didn’t it wasnt until after they had been in the industry for a while that they brought their entire self to the workplace. Many of them worked hard and conformed until they had a track record and clout to rely on. Believe it or not we are still discriminated against on the basis of how we look. A woman told the story of her daughter who has an outstanding career making well over six figures. Her daughter is natural. As soon as she started wearing her natural hair to work, her boss stopped bringing her clients. As soon as she reverted back to the weaves and the wigs, she got clients and promotions etc. The conference had strict rules and regulations. If you were not in compliance then you were rejected. The same as any employer would reject any employee who was not what they were looking for. He knew first hand of the rules prior to applying and if not , someone told him during the application process I’m sure. He didn’t comply so this is the consequence. There were many there who were called out because of appearance. But it was out of love. Not discrimination. LOVE! NOT DISCRIMINATION.
This conference is a blessing to many people! There were jobs and interviews and internships specifically for our people! The President and CEO “begs professionally” on our behalf ALL OF THE TIME. TMCF gives away much needed scholarships and funds to advance our people! I myself am a graduate student who is working full time and going to school at night. I went to the conference hoping to make a career change and TMCF afforded me the opportunity to do so. I am in full support of TMCF and their rules/regulations. This is one bandwagon I am not willing to jump on.
Our looks or how we wear our hair should not be looked upon as ‘not professional’. We should be considered for how well we are ‘qualified’. Whether it was done in love or not it hurts. He is striving for success, not committing crimes. Our brothers already have to go through enough in this cruel & unfair world. Why criticize our black men for wearing locs? It’s our heritage & we should not feel we have to conform to society to fit in. We have our own identities which God created us to be. Change for no one. Peace & Blessings
I know people do not like what I have to say on this matter, but I stand by my comments.
In theory this is so true and I agree with you 110%. WHOLEHEARTEDLY. I wear my natural hair to work intermittently throughout the year. I can def tell a difference when I wear straight weave vs. when I wear my natural hair.
That being said, the world, namely corporate America which is majority white does not agree with our culture and our heritage. The only way to change it is from the inside out. Get in using their standards- change it to accomodate ours.
NO. You change it by CREATING YOUR OWN, thereby BYPASSING whatever inbred mutant albinos are doing altogether.. Whites aren’t going to let you change anything that they’ve created for themselves. You best get that into your head.
What kind of boss would take away clients from a perfectly well-working and excellent employee over a hairstyle? An idoitic boss, obviously. As if her hairstyle suddenly trumped her previous work efforts, lol.
Thank you for your honest perspective from the inside. Although I don’t agree with the restriction, I understand that my viewpoint is limited because I am not privy to the details regarding the organizations policies.
Biggest load of manure I’ve read today. Congratulations!!
You’re an ASSIMILATIONIST, i.e, you’re of NO USE to INTELLIGENT BLACK SOCIETY.
You should focus on MAKING YOUR OWN, not conforming to some stupid standard set by SAMBO’s and Inbred mutant albinos.
The conduct described within this article may be a violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, a law enforced by the DC Office of Human Rights, which prohibits discrimination based upon personal appearance. One may initiate a complaint by completing the OHR questionnaire found at http://www.ohr.dc.gov/complaint. If Mr. Gordon, or any other person feels they have been discriminated against because of their hairstyle, they may file a complaint with OHR and possibly receive monetary damages.
I don’t think it’s discrimination when they specifically state certain rules and regulations must be followed. Others were told to accommodate and did so or was not selected to attend. You don’t see them complaining.
Such a fine man…
But on a different note: Here lies the issue with depending on ather groups. They set the stanard even if its complete BS. When we one day control our own infrastructure then no white mofo can tell us that the way our hair grows out of our heads is problematic.
This is really some slave mentality bullsñ$hit and it annoys me to no end that black people are the ones perpetrating it. Instead of uplifting a young black man you make a bias based on some superficial shit? Im through with them.
You know, now that I think about it, the only people who have ever given me lip about my locs have been older Black folks. And like, I get it, you think you’re trying to help me be “more professional” or something. But you’re doing it wrong.
No more policing of our bodies.
Realistically what can be done? Perhaps if we could get some more progressively-minded people in these gatekeeper positions that’d be ideal. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. People who can look at the big picture, who can exercise a little critical thinking here and there. Not too much, I know thinking hurts for some people. But really, did the person(s) who made this decision ever stop and think, “What have we accomplished by keeping this man out of a space he earned his right to be in? What kind of message are we sending? Only the ‘right type’ of black person can be in our group?”
Ugh.
Yes to everything Herm wrote!
It’s the constant fear generations of Blacks endured over being VISIBLE. That fear was legitimate, we were tortured and killed because we rebelled daily and were competition for jobs, land, money, partners and power. So, to guarantee our survival we sought a truce. We believed White assurances that if we became LESS VISIBLE in our identical pursuits of middle-class life, liberty and happiness, that our loved ones would stop being murdered, our homes and businesses would stop being bombed, our land and money would stop being stolen, our loans would stop being denied, our women would stop being assaulted, our inventions would stop getting taken, our academics and politicians would stop sweeping floors.
But they lied. No amount of conformity, or ‘invisibleness’ has ever kept anyone from harm, it only makes one more vulnerable to attack. Some Blacks are so traumatized and brainwashed they believe invisibility has kept us alive and successful, therefore any ‘threat’ to that makes us vulnerable to ridicule, injustice and violence (not entirely untrue on some levels). Being less visible cost us too much of our most powerful asset; unflinching ownership of identity. But the truce is over. So TO THE ORGANIZERS: you’re damned if you do show your Africa, damned if you don’t, surrender to this reality and come peacefully, or else.
Words fail me – I have signed the petition!
That is an actual picture of him and his hair. He looks very well groomed and his locks look great and well kept. I think if the over all appearances look good you should over look the fact that his hair is locked.
What does his dreadlocks have to do with his future ability to perform his future job?
well
a) This is a crock of $hit. It is 2014 and no one should be defined by their hair style. Bottom line.
b) Gosh… He is handsome.
Excuse me, but *droool*
Ahem, but seriously this is embarrassing. Those schools should encourage us to wear OUR hairstyles, not ban them.
Thanks for the information and petition link. However, I was a little surprised at the use of the term dreadlocks on this site. The term locs or locks are preferable. They are locks of hair. There is a history behind the use of the word “dreadful” to describe them. That was a term given to the hair to ostracize the hair and people who wore it, and we still see behavior stemming from the notion of them being dreadful and unacceptable, hence why in 2014 we still have institutions judging people with them and banning them. So they are deemed not professional? not as acceptable? Enough so to actually deny someone an opportunity to participate in a conference because it clearly must be felt that someone with locks will denigrate their brand/authority? It is definitely surprising to read about this ban hear in almost 2015.
I did not know that. I’m trying to google for more information but coming up with nothing. do you know where one could read more about the origin of the word?
I found something, for those like myself who had no idea of the origin of the word “dreadlocks”
http://racismschool.tumblr.com/post/40062198140/story-time-dreadlocks-and-cultural-appropriation
YES! White people get “dreads”. We “loc”.
Part of it has to do with a man sporting long hair. Just part of it.
I wonder if it were a white man walking around looking like Repunzel would they still respond lke this?
I think they would… unless he was in some hippy-dippy place.
Is this rule for both men and women? If so the message is permed you’ve earned, loc’d you’re blocked. Sounds like another popular rhyme about skin color 🙁
Wow just read his change.org account. It is for males. Discrimination from our own people. smh
Why have we been so brainwashed by the white establishment that we have to police our own for not conforming to those standards. #jesustakethewheel
WOW! This is disheartening to say the least! Since when did his locs define who he is and what he’s capable of?
Lol I went to a casual interview with a company and they told me if I ever wanted to work their I have to get rid of my dreadlocks. I was like WTF. I worked for multinationals and all over the world with my dreadlock hair and no one ever told me anything about it. Do really think I am just going to change it for you?? I laughed and said I won’t be interested in working here.
The funny thing is my locs are like reaaaly neat. So neat you can see my scalp.
I just laughed and walked out.
IT is time more black people start wearing their natural hair and start standing up against this white supremacy nonsense.
This is the main reason why I say black women should stop straightening their hair and wearin weaves.
I think other races believe that we accept straight hair as better . That is why they are bold enough to say these kind of things.
The love has to come from us first. We need to start showing people that we love our hair by rockin it !!