By the way, unity does not come from
everyone being the same.
That is forced conformity to your image.
Have you ever in your life seen a grown adult put out an ad in a newspaper against a teenage boy?
Texas Superintendent Defends Suspending Black Student Over Locs Hairstyle in Full-Page Ad: ‘Being American Requires Conformity’
When I started Braid the Ladder, it was hard for a few folks to see how hair care products fit into domestic Violence and sexual violence. Thankfully, most people got it right away.
One of the sweetest memories I have is going to my local beauty supply shop, where an Asian man donated supplies on the spot.
Neither of us fluently spoke the other's native language! As he handed me a stack of picks he mimed and said, "For boys."
I was amazed.
How in the world could he possibly know that it was the word of teenage kids, an extremely angry teen boy included, that got this whole thing started???
Pressure to Conform
Women would come into shelters without hair care products to groom their and their children's hair. It is a critical need that is still viewed as a luxury item.
Why can't you use those other mainstream hair care products? Can you get the ones on the shelf for a couple of dollars?
It has to be treated with special care. Only certain products that are sold on the shelf work well on these beautifully delicate strands.
2. People judge
I started Braid the Ladder because of the children. The children expressed strong feelings at having to go to school "looking like we live in a shelter."
These were Black children. Children who were already trying to hide the violence within their homes. Trying to "appear" like the other kids. When you talk with children in homes where there is domestic violence, they express so much anger around that.
Children are learning who they are. They long to fit in and appreciate their differences at the same time. Please continue to support every child in learning who they are and appreciating what makes them different from other human beings.
Final Note:
Let us all continue to mind our own individual hair strands and let people wear the hair that works for them.
Clean, groom, and adorn your hair, and leave the rest alone! Most of all, leave the kids alone. Give them the space to love themselves as they were naturally created.
