In 2010 Chastity Jones lost her job simply because of her hair. Catastrophe Management Solutions would hire her under one circumstance: Chastity had to cut her locs off. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Chastity’s hiring manager only to meet defeat. Cases like Chastity’s weren’t uncommon; the courthouse has seen a number of cases similar to this for more than 40 years. 

Racism going back to the 1800s portrays the idea that African American hair is unprofessional. Enslaved Creole women of color were required to wear a head scarf covering their hair to show that they were inferior; this was infamously known as the Tignon Law. Because of this, generations leading up to today have perceived black hair as unworthy of corporate America. The New Crown Research 2023 Workplace Research Study found that 66% of women change their natural hair for an interview in order to be more successful. 

Evidently, there has been support regarding natural hair rights. The CROWN Act is one case of this support. With the passing of this act on July 3, 2019, it became illegal to discriminate based on race-based hair texture. The passage of the CROWN Act is a step further to “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” However, there are still slight impediments; the CROWN Act, or other versions, had only been passed in 20 states as of February 2023, a mere 40% of the United States. 

Furthermore, in addition to natural hair being beautiful, it is also protective. Popular hairstyles such as locs, two-strand twists, cornrows, or even simple afros are known as “protective styles”, intended to give black hair a chance to relax and remain stress-free. This stress can come from pulling the hair, having a specific style too long -  and most commonly by popularity - heat damage from straightening hair. Vigorous heat damage can cause breakage of the ends, dry hair, and a loose curl pattern that may be difficult to restore. At the end of the day, straight hair, the ideal in the workplace, is doing more harm than good. 

Considering this, there is a common misconception of black hair as undesirable, enabling disregard for cases such as Chastity Jones’. Only 8% of jobs in a professional work setting are held by African Americans. As a black student in America planning to pursue a career in a professional setting when I am older, I hope to see the bias against this matter change in ways that no longer hinder the black community.