Dreadlock ruling allows employee firing over hairstyle
The U.S. federal appeals court ruled it is legal for companies to ban employees from wearing dreadlocks on Sept. 15.
The 3-0 decision was made by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, dismissing a case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about a woman who was asked to remove her dreadlocks to abide by company policy.
As argued by the EEOC, “prohibition of dreadlocks in the workplace constitutes race discrimination because dreadlocks are a manner of wearing the hair that is physiologically and culturally associated with people of African descent.”
VCU Assistant Professor of African American Studies Brandi Thompson Summers, believes the ruling was on par with acts of discrimination African-Americans face on a daily basis.
“It was pretty consistent,” Summers said. “The military banned certain hairstyles for women in the Army and Marines. They had images that accompanied the banned ones including dreadlocks. They showed acceptable braids with a white model and unacceptable with a black model. I wasn’t surprised but definitely disappointed.
Summers is also a sociologist and has conducted research on urban studies and visual culture theory centered around fashion and race. Similarly she said the treatment of black life and value correlate with White America’s acceptance of their visual expressions.
“There’s a way that our styles, particularly black people, is policed that’s around our hair,” Summers said. “Thinking about the way hair expresses your history, culture, it’s also easier in terms of grooming habits, it’s easier to have locks.
A lot of black people’s hair doesn’t grow straight and requires additional labor to conform to a white standard, but today that is what’s encouraged to look appropriate, Summers said.
Much like many other tenants of black culture, Summers said dreadlocks have become a thing of the mainstream despite the many myths surrounding the hairstyle.
“You hear the idea that it looks unclean and unkempt, unprofessional. It’s associated with drug culture. It’s also associated with Rastafarian culture so it can be considered not Christian,” Summers said. “Even though we see it sports, music, arts and fashion, there seems to be difference between a black body with dreads versus a white body. When it’s on a black body, it elicits danger, fear and violence.”
The origin of dreadlocks runs deep through the black experience, struggle and plight, despite now being a popular and commercialized hairstyle.
When slaves were taken from Africa, they were under deplorable conditions, made to lie in their own sweat, urine and fecal matter. Summers said this environment led to their hair becoming matted, in a way which Europeans deemed “dreadful.”
“That started the lineage of it becoming dreadlocks to just dreads as we know it today,” Summers said. “If you carry it over to spirituality and the Rastafarian culture, there is a connection in which locks represent your connection to your heritage and roots. It certainly has its history and the voyage we took to this country.”
Summers, who has never worn dreads, said she has faced controversy over her own hairstyle choices. Prior to being a professor, she worked in the corporate world. There, she said she very seldom saw women wearing their hair naturally.
“It’s become less common but certainly in the ‘90s and early 2000s there was still that pressure to have a relaxer or straighten your hair,” Summers said. “There was a point in my life where I shaved my hair. I remember the reaction I got. While there were women that longed for that type of liberation but there were men who questioned my decision.”
Physically, among other issues, relaxers are damaging to one’s hair. Over time, research proven relaxers are detrimental to a person’s hair, scalp and health. Summers said the fact that the court overlooks such findings further adds to their disregard for black life.
Although it’s been a month since the court ruling, there’s been no reaction from any VCU officials. Summers said she is hopeful that students will take it upon themselves to make this a larger issue.
“Since this is a space of academic freedom, in terms of style and politics of your hair, it should be the same,” Summers said.
STAFF WRITER
Muktaru Jalloh
Muktaru is a graduate student working on a Master’s of Teaching after earning an undergraduate degree in English and Political Science. In addition to writing for the CT, he also co-founds his own music and arts site, STROKES N RHYMES. Topic areas Muktaru enjoys covering include music, sports and pop culture.
jallohmm@commonwealthtimes.org
