“Within the black community, if you have ‘good hair’ you’re seen as prettier or better than someone without it.” This comment, made by actress Nia Long when being interviewed in the movie “Good Hair,” is a notion that was at the heart of both the film and dialogue that occurred on Monday evening in the 900 Room. The program, cosponsored by SGA, BSC and RLO, was the first of what will be a series of events as part of the new SGA initiative, the SGA Voices Project.
“This project is a series of different programs that will help facilitate discussion and dialogue on topics of gender, sexual orientation, ability, ethnicity, religion and much more, helping us to hear the silenced voices and unspoken, unaddressed concerns in our community,” SGA President Meikaela Zwieryznski ’10 said.
On Monday evening, students gathered together to watch the film “Good Hair.” The film is a documentary by actor and comedian Chris Rock, in which he takes a look into the world of black hair, subsequently immersing himself in the social, political, economic and international issues that surround it.
After the film, there was a dialogue in which the various issues alluded to during the film were discussed by a panel, and then later whomever was willing to speak from the audience.
Associate Dean of Students Patty Perillo began by establishing the groundrules of the dialogue, in which she made a point to convey that like any documentary, the film has an inherent bias, and it is important to note that not all of the things alluded to in the movie were necessarily true. Because of the comedy element that Chris Rock brought to the film, she said, it could be difficult to see what was true and what was false.
The four panelists were BSC member Aria Holliday ’12, SGA Senator Rayna McKenzie ‘11, BSC Black History Month Committee member Roshelle Clarke ‘13 and Chidsey Director of Student Leadership Development Julia Jones. All were black women with different types of hair, who were able to articulate what role their hair has played in their lives from a personal, social, political and even romantic standpoint.
In the black community, straight, silky hair is often and seen as more attractive than the curly, “natural” hair that many black women are born with. During the discussion, many students said how they believed the media perpetuated these images of only one type of beauty, and how this inevitably affects black girls from a young age. Jones discussed how her own daughter, an eight-year-old at Davidson Elementary – a majority white school – commented that she believed that her hair “was supposed to be straight and bouncy, like the other girls at school.”
In attempting to fight this seemingly misconstrued notion of beauty, Theresa Dickson ’13 said that she has friends who have “gone natural” for political and social reasons. They said that they were tired of people only finding them attractive after they would straighten or relax their hair.
“It’s almost a revolution,” Dickson said. “Finding beauty in something that other people don’t always consider beautiful.”
Other students, however, like Clarke, who cut nearly all of her hair off in December, said that they went natural, not necessarily just for just political reasons, but because it was easier and cheaper to maintain.
Clarke also made it a point to convey that this is not only a problem for black women, but something that many black men are forced to deal with as well. “Men are judged by the type of hair they have all the time,” she said. “A guy with dreads, or braids, or an afro will have a harder time finding a job than a man with a low haircut. They’re seen as threatening.”
This brought up an issue regarding whether it was fair that certain companies would not hire black employees if they had natural hair. Imani Bowen ’10 expanded on this and said that because she often wears her hair in an afro or braids, people away from school too often have a preconceived notion of her. “When people off campus see me, they don’t think I’m a Davidson student, and that’s where the problem lies,” Bowen said.
Dialogue continued as students passionately discussed what the notion of “good hair” meant in the context of the movie as well as within their own lives. Nearly all seemed to agree, however, that a student should be able to wear their hair in whatever way they want, without being disapprovingly judged for it. As McKenzie put it, “‘Good hair’ is healthy hair, no matter what kind it is.”
SGA Voices continues with ‘Good Hair’
Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Updated: Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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