Our hair is good hair

One of my most memorable moments from this past year was a conversation I had with a student who asked why I didn’t comb out my locs because she thought I had “good hair”. She believed that because my edges were a looser curl pattern that it was a “waste” to have my hair in locs. I had to hide my shock because I understood that her mindset was rooted in years of exposure to white beauty standards and shame around Black hair. Instead of giving a speech about the politicization of Black hair and policing of Black women’s beauty (I really wanted to lol), I used this moment as a learning opportunity.

We talked about how to redefine “good hair” and the beauty of having coiled, coarse hair. We discussed making assumptions about and the impact of negatively commenting on someone’s hair. We ended by discussing her own relationship with her hair and why she believed her hair was “bad”. Although my student had lingering misconceptions at the end of the conversation, she had a better understanding of where her thoughts were rooted and how she could begin to appreciate her own hair and self image.

Black teachers matter. Black women matter. Black hair is political. The classroom is a place to educate the whole child and empower them to achieve and appreciate themselves as they are🖤✊🏾

Dana