- Hair is an amazing thing, from its roots to its tips, it's a form of self-identity, in many cultures signifying anything from marital status to spirituality.

But here in the United States, hair diversity hasn't always been celebrated, with discriminatory practices and beauty standards shutting many out from opportunities.

I'm Kylie Ambu, and on today's Mutually Inclusive, we're exploring the heritage and beauty of black hair, as well as what Michigan's doing to stop hair discrimination.

(bright music) (music continues) - As an African American woman, it is very important for me, crucial, it's a lifeline, it's a bloodline for me to be able to wear my hair natural.

- It's so empowering.

It gives me the permission to be my authentic self.

- As an African-American, it is important to me because it is my God-given right to wear my hair as it grows out of my head.

- It is a level of personal self-expression.

And the fact that we have to even have a conversation about being able to wear natural hair is a travesty in itself.

- I've always been faced with questions about my hair.

Even once I got older and started into employment.

- What does it look like?

Is it professional?

Is it good enough?

- And I was told by someone early in my career that I would never be taken seriously in my professional world by having, starting my dreadlocks.

So, I've been wearing dreadlocks now for about 17 years.

- And so, I would put chemicals in it, and I would straighten it every single day, damaging my hair.

- I'm 28 years old and I've had to do so much healing from years of damage of going to school, and being made fun of, or people touching my, wanting to touch my hair, and just letting me know that I was different because I had different hair.

- But my hair is important to me.

It's a part of who I am.

And it will be my choice when I choose to change my hairstyle, or do something different.

- Black women surrounded me and encouraged me to wear my hair naturally.

And to this day, as you can see, I still wear my hair very naturally.

- Well, I'm truly excited that the Crown Act has passed in Michigan.

- That we even have to legislate people being able to be authentically themselves as a problem in itself.

- I am saddened that people that look like me need a policy to make sure that our kids can graduate.

- But aside from that, I'm glad that Michigan has jumped on board with the Crown Act.

- With this passing in Michigan, I think like the word that comes to mind is the beginning of freedom.

- Black and brown little girls won't have to question how they wear their hair to an interview.

They won't have to question if their braids are too much.

- It's a part of me.

It's a part of my self-expression.

- And I love everything that my curls bring.

I think that they rock with me in my personality.

- I love, I love just the versatility, the history of my hair, the resilience of my hair.

I love black hair and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

(bright music) - Hair tells a story, and as you've seen through that video, it's a part of personal identity.

Black hair has had its own unique journey here in the United States, being used as both a tool of oppression and empowerment.

Now, it's important to remember, in ancient African societies, hair was a cultural and spiritual symbol.

But during America's early days of slavery, enslaved Africans were forced to shave their heads, stripping that cultural identity.

But later, it was hair that also saved many slaves, with hairstyles like cornrows being used as a way of secret communication, styling different patterns to set meetups or even map escape routes.

But while slavery was abolished in 1865, hair, along with other racial identifiers, was not protected from discrimination.

It's a weapon the NAACP says works to preserve white spaces and can still be at play today.

Policies that prohibit natural hairstyles, like afros, braids, bantu knots, and locks, have often been used to justify the removal of Black children from classrooms and Black adults from employment.

Take 2019, for example, when a news anchor in Mississippi lost her job because she decided not to straighten her hair, or a year earlier, when an Alabama woman had her job offer revoked because her hairstyle violated company policy.

Right here in Michigan, a biracial 7-year-old's hair was cut by a student, then a teacher, in 2021, sparking a $1 million lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.

Now, the fight to end hair discrimination can be traced back to America's earliest days, but it took a jump forward in 2019 with something called the CROWN Act, Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.

Originating in California, at least 23 states have signed legislation in banning hair discrimination, and last summer, Michigan was added to the list.

While states have written in policies, there's currently no federal law banning hair discrimination.

And with loopholes in these systems and daily microaggressions, advocates say this fight is far from finished.

Today, Mutually Inclusive's Jennifer Moss sits down with women in our own community to talk about the Crown Act, its importance and hopes for the future.

(bright music) - Hello, everyone.

We of course are talking about the Crown Act today, creating a respectful and open world for natural hair.

I am so happy to have two wonderful women here joining us on set today.

Lois Smith Owens, recently retired, long-time professor of social work at GVSU, and Sandra Gaddy, CEO of the Women's Resource Center here in Grand Rapids.

We welcome you both.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- So, both of you in particular fields, and you have particular personal experience as well, have dealt with issues of hair, the beautiful crown on your heads.

We're talking today again about that Crown Act signed into law in Michigan by Governor Gretchen Whitmer back in June.

It, in 24 states I believe now, still kind of active on the federal level, but it has not been formally passed.

They're still looking at that.

We've got a lot of ground to tackle, but we're gonna start with you telling us your thoughts about the Crown Act.

Lois, you've got extensive personal and professional experience in your work as a social worker.

You have traveled extensively throughout Africa, to Ghana in particular, taking students there and the like.

Your thoughts about the Crown Act being in place and perhaps about hair discrimination being, as what some people say rooted in systemic racism?

- Yes, well, it is an absolute necessary law, and it must be passed throughout this entire country as far as I'm concerned.

The discrimination I think that women of color, African-American women in particular have experienced for me begins as a kid being a one black family in an all-white town with five girls we wore our hair and braids every day all the other kids if they had braids they were long, or they had long hair or curly hair, and I can remember one day when one of my braids came loose, and I was I think in the third grade, and I couldn't figure out how to rebraid it, and so therefore I was sort of laughed at, teased for the rest of the day and after that I learned to braid very quickly by the way, and that is the beginning experience of knowing that you're different, and that because you're different there's something wrong with it, and so there was something wrong with my hair because it didn't fall down and white hair falls down.

We used to stick our head out of the car window when dad was driving, so our hair would blow in the wind.

- That's the idea of trying to fit in- - Yeah, it is.

- It started at an early age.

- You don't do that yeah, and I think that's something that African-American women have felt ever since we arrived on this continent is that we don't fit in our hair is not their hair.

We've talked about babies born with good hair, I'm sure we've both heard that.

It's part of that whole issue that permeates the life of black people in general just because we have black skin, but even our hair is not enough.

We're never good enough because we're not white.

My hair is black and curly, you know, and I hope it stays that way.

Well, it's silver now, but it was black and curly.

Okay, we are born with hair that's endemic to the continent that we came from.

It is useful.

It is helpful.

It takes care of the moisture, the temperatures, everything else in the climates of that particular continent.

So, our hair was born into the continent it was supposed to be born into.

- And the reaction in workplaces and for students, we've had so many recent news reports of various activities such as one student being just recently suspended in Texas where they just passed the act, the Crown Act, and being suspended twice because he had dreadlocks that he pulled up and you know there's an argument there, I'm not going to get into particulars about the case, but it continues to be prevalent in society today where people are looked at or the workplace, or school looks at them differently because of the way they decide to wear their hair.

Yes, it still continues even today, and I think that if one volunteers any of the grade schools around this community you will find that there are little black girls who are still very concerned about their hair.

Even in the second, third and second grade, they're concerned that someone's going to say something about their hair.

And it might be someone who looks just like them, which is even worse.

- Ms. Sandra, you head up a major center for women, the Women's Resource Center, of course.

You help women get back into the workforce after difficult life situations in many cases.

Statistics show that black and brown people, especially black women, regularly face discrimination in schools and the workplace based on the texture and style of the hair.

You also held a panel discussion as part of Black Women Connect about, "I Am Not My Hair."

What are your thoughts about the Crown Act and how it relates to women in the workplace and beyond?

- Well, first I echo Lois's comment that it's necessary.

It's necessary not only for the state, but it's necessary for the country.

And I completely agree that we need to ensure that all 50 states, all states are covered to protect women of color and particularly black women, African-American women.

And I mean, for the women that we serve coming out of Women's Resource Center, we have not had a woman that said, I've been discriminated for a job necessarily.

But we do have women who are afraid to go into work and afraid that their hair is not going to be accepted, whether it's locs or an afro like mine, or if it's twist.

And as an advocacy-based organization, we are clear that if you run into those situations, to come back to us and we will advocate for them.

Personally, as a mother of two girls and my son, my youngest daughter went to a Christian school.

And I remember in middle school, when she came home and said she wanted to straighten her hair.

And it devastated me, because she wanted to fit in.

And she was only one of two African American students, girls at the school.

And it was because the other girls would touch her hair, and ask her about her hair.

And she just got tired.

She loved her hair, but she just became tired and said, just straighten it.

I just wanna get past this and just you know deal with it.

And she she had her hair straight from middle school partial middle school and through high school.

And what I loved about the panel discussion for black women connect that I Am Not My Hair.

We really focus on encouraging women to stop saying, who has good hair?

Because we all have good hair.

- Absolutely.

- There's not, we didn't make that up.

- What does that even mean?

- What does that even mean?

And that was not black people's narratives.

That was given to us.

And so, we have to be the ones that say, we're no longer gonna say that.

And my daughter, who was in college at the time, and she had some of her teammates, she played ball there at her college, and she walked out so free, so free from that.

And she said, I'm going to wear my own hair.

And so, when you've permed your hair for so long, like I did as well, that is a process.

You gotta get the chemicals out of your hair, and it is truly a process.

- It's a lengthy process, and there's all kinds of things going on in between as you grow it out.

- Absolutely, absolutely.

And I remember the first time that I went natural, and it was my daughter who encouraged me to go natural, and I was at a former employer.

I sat in my car for over an hour.

I got to work early.

I sat in the car for over an hour.

I would wear my hair natural on vacations, but the thought of going into work and the thought of judgment and the thought of having to defend myself.

- Or explain.

- Or explain.

It was a lot to handle, even as an executive leader.

And so, I did get the courage after someone knocked on my window and said, why are you in the car?

And I went in.

But and so I've been wearing my hair natural ever since.

But it's important that employers recognize this is our crown and we should be free to wear it.

We need to come to work with our whole selves.

And as coming to work in our whole selves, they're gonna get our best selves.

- Absolutely.

So, we're gonna take a look at a piece because in addition to the professional, and the educational implications of hair discrimination, it's reported also that pressure on a worker or student to style their hair, as you mentioned, a certain way, can also hold, though, economic and health implications.

Mandating that people straighten their hair can come at a sizable cost, with permanent straightening costing between $38 and $435 per session.

In addition to that, of the economic cost, people feeling that need to straighten their hair to perhaps fit in can also have negative health implications.

And recent studies have linked straightening products to uterine cancer.

Kylie Ambu actually spoke with an attorney handling a class-action lawsuit.

We're going to take a look at that conversation then we'll address that issue a little bit more when we come back.

(bright music) - L'Oreal and other beauty industry giants are facing lawsuits as studies by the U.S. National Institutes of Health claim their hair relaxer products have a connection to cancer.

The products in question largely affect black and brown women, and today I'm joined with Daniel Snyder with the Environmental Litigation Group who are representing those who are impacted.

Daniel, thank you so much for taking the time to be here today.

Let's start by talking about your organization, the Environmental Litigation Group.

Can you tell me a bit more about what it does?

- Sure, we have been around for over three decades and we focus on specifically toxic exposure litigation, and that is usually when an individual comes in contact with hazardous substance, and it causes severe health problems.

And so, we kind of focus on helping those people evaluating those cases.

- So, can you explain some of the work and research that you have done regarding these toxic hair relaxer claims, really what we're seeing right now?

- So specifically, the toxic hair relaxer claims have been getting a lot of attention recently because there's been some studies that have come out that make a connection between certain types of cancer in women and the use of these products.

And specifically, there was a big study that came out last year that has sort of focused the attention on this matter.

Now, it is important to note that one of the big names on this list is L'Oreal.

The company did come out though with a statement about this last year saying its highest priority is health.

It added in a statement quote, we are confident in the safety of our products and believe the recent lawsuits filed against us have no legal merit.

So, Daniel the question I'm asking from a legal perspective, you know, are companies that sell these products primarily to black and brown women to be held accountable?

- Well, that's what the courts do and that's what these lawsuits have been brought.

The first one that I'm aware of was brought last year and they've multiplied since then trying to hold these manufacturers accountable because these products not only are used by black women, but they are actively marketed to them.

And even going down to younger women, so many of these women have been using them for decades and that was the intent, that was the marketing purpose.

And so, it's a long road to hold companies accountable, and there's a lot of milestones that'll have to be crossed along the way, but we've begun that process.

- And from what you're seeing, what do the current safety regulations for products look like?

Should people be on alert when they're purchasing?

- So, that's a really good question because there's been some recent change which is in some ways helpful, but maybe not to the extent people might think.

So, historically cosmetics are not regulated the same way food is regulated.

And there was an act passed last year called the Modernization of Cosmetic Regulation Act, which gives the FDA a little more control, but it's still more of a reactive statute, meaning that the industry has to self-regulate and self-report things to the FDA, and then the FDA can take action.

So, it's a little bit controversial to the extent that they're not the protections that people might assume are in place, but at least it's a baby step in the right direction.

- And again, sharing L'Oreal's side of this, because they were not able to be here with us today, the company does say it upholds the highest standards for safety and does put strict regulations on their supplies.

Daniel, I want to say thank you again for giving your time and your insight today, joining us here on WGVU.

- Thank you, Kylie.

(bright music) - So, as we look at that, you know, there is that pressure and even your daughter experienced it to fit in and people are now experiencing health side effects from that.

We've had a class action lawsuit, but there's also that when you talk about freedom that you, your daughter received, you got it as well when you said, okay, I'm gonna do it.

There's also more to it than just that.

There's the freedom that we wanna speak of in our ancestral history as well, correct?

And you've traveled again to Africa many times.

You know some of that, the braids had, and they have a lot to do with maybe what tribe you were in or what some of your background is right?

- Actually, it's a considerable amount it not only designates what tribe you're in, it will designate your status within that community there are various hairstyles that are worn for certain things, so a pregnant woman would be wearing her hair one way a young man going off to war would have his hair worn another way.

Young girls in West Africa in particular don't wear braids.

They have, even to this day, their hair is cut very short, very similar to mine.

If I can take this off now.

- You can do that.

- This, by the way, is my daily that I wrapped, but you see what I mean, short hair?

Well, you will find this because it frees up mothers who have more than one daughter because braiding hair takes a while.

Their hair is this way and it's clean, it can be easily cleaned, less apt to be infected with anything.

The other thing is that the African braids were a way to show people who you really were, where you came from, what your religion was, whether you were married or not married, what your age was, all of those things designated by your hair.

And for royal affairs, there were specific hairstyles that certain people could wear based on their status within the community.

So, it really was, it reminds me almost of the quilting situation where we did quilts to show people how to go north.

Well, this hair was the same kind of a thing, a visual direction of where you were and what your status was, and where you could and could not go.

- And it maintains today because a lot of people look at that as a history, a piece of their history, and wanting to maintain some of that, whether it's the Bantu knots or braids or dreads, right?

- Right.

And the locks in particular are not as African as they are something that really came up out of Africans being moved to the Caribbean area.

And unless there were people within their group and they always separated us, you know, so we couldn't speak to each other on the ships.

If you got people on the ship who could all speak the same language they might mutiny.

They did anyhow but if you have people who don't, so they didn't have the braiding techniques, and so the locks began the thing that's when locks actually began because they still wanted that feeling, but there were not the same skill sets because you didn't know who each other was, and so the breeding didn't take place in the same way amongst that group.

- So, then as we look back at the Crown Act and preserving the right to hold on to heritage, history, ancestral, taking a look back at that, how important then would you say it is?

you talked about it at the top, but what is your hope as we look at the Crown Act, again 24 states right now still being worked at on the federal level, holding on to the right to wear your hair without being removed from school, or looked at, or talked about it on your job, that freedom.

How important is that and what is your hope, Sandra?

- My hope is that women do not have to conform and that women can come in and, as I said earlier, to really be their whole selves at work.

It's really important that even today, women are still stereotyped.

Men are stereotyped because of how they wear their hair.

But there's also still a need for people to even touch women's hair and touch our hair.

So we are, we should be able to come into work, and be assessed on our talents and our skills that we bring and not our hair.

- As you said, I am not my hair.

- I am not my hair.

- Lois.

- But I'm proud of my hair.

- Absolutely, absolutely.

- I am not my hair, definitely.

But I love my hair.

And when I came to Grand Rapids in 1998, there were very few people who wore locks.

And mine were all the way down my back.

And literally, I was stared at.

And now, everywhere you turn, someone has locks.

Old, young, in between.

And a number of European Americans are wearing locks.

And it's, I never know whether that's appropriation or whether that's appreciation.

Whether that's a compliment or whether that's, I'm taking it, and it doesn't matter what the history is.

We were never given a choice really.

Our hair had to be covered when we were enslaved later on, you know, Madam Walker and the straightening comb, and that's what we thought we should do.

But our beauty really shows up when we come looking like Sandra Gaddy.

- The natural.

- Yes, with the natural self.

- And like you.

- And yours, which is naturally natural straight, there you are, we are the kind of the run of the, one of the... - The full circle.

- The full circle, yes.

- The full circle.

- In terms of our hair.

- Absolutely.

- And I think that African women, if they want to have their hair pressed or wear a permanent, they should be able to do that.

They should also be able to wear their hair cut as short as they like or as long as they like, whatever.

- I think it ends with choice.

Black women should have choice in how we, in men.

We should have choice in how we want to wear our hair.

And whether it's straight, curly, locks, twist, we should have choice and not be dictated to.

- Right.

And we're gonna end on that word.

Thank you both so much for joining us today.

We greatly appreciate your time.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

It's been a pleasure.

(bright music) - Well, that was such an, I think, not only educational conversation, but really personal and raw at the same time.

I personally felt like it could have gone on forever.

Was that your take?

- Absolutely my take, because we could have actually talked for hours.

We really kind of just scratched the surface, because there's so much more in the history of the various hairstyles the crowns.

As we refer to it from the Crown Act, as well as we just touched on a number of issues that people are still facing.

Regarding this a number of news stories still out there.

I mean we scratched the surface again on the Texas student who was Suspended twice because of his dreadlocks though.

He had them pinned up.

So, that's something we'll see through in court I guess they're working on that.

There was a young girl, a biracial girl whose teacher cut her hair without her parents' permission- - That came out.

- That was in the news as well, and you know, there are so many stories that kind of just.

There are wrestlers.

I don't know if we were called that one as well.

A wrestler had to cut his locks while he was ready to finish competing in the match the referee said he had to cut them right then and there.

- [Kylie] Right on the floor.

- Right on the floor, and then another student couldn't graduate if he didn't cut his hair.

So, personal situations really brought forth and now hopefully with the Crown Act, is what they're saying, is that some of these things might stop.

As well as what you looked at from the health impact for the chemicals in the hair as well.

- Yeah, that was the interesting thing is there are so many different ways of impact.

I think being forced to cut hair, so that you can compete in sporting activities, so that you can graduate.

And for some people, the impacts have come along a little later in life.

Those who have used those hair relaxers for years and years and years, now dealing with dire side effects, deadly side effects.

And so, I think it's just a conversation that is continuing to go on today and has from history forward.

- Absolutely, and then again, we have 24 states at last count, at last check, I believe.

So, we'll see what happens with the rest of the states as well as on the federal level, which the House passed it, but it has not been taken up in the Senate as yet, or at least it hasn't passed.

- Right, and we will keep you updated on that information.

Don't forget that you can watch this episode and others on our website and our YouTube pages, but don't forget to give us a follow on our social media.

We want to give a huge thanks to those who were able to join us on this important conversation today.

That's right, and we hope to see you next week.

And as always, we thank you for helping us be Mutually Inclusive.

(bright music)