hair racism...locs or not....

[Sexy Mocha]

I think people should be able to wear their hair however they please as long as its kept neat. I have come across both men and women with some of the most beautiful dreads...correction..locks I have ever seen and on the flip side of the coin, I have seen awful looking, unkempt locks that indeed may come off as inappropriate for some professions..or anyplace for that matter.

[MaMaBuddha]

All the days of the vow of the separation there shall no razor come upon his head until the days are fulfilled for which he
separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. (Numbers 6:5)

booooooya-kaaaaaaaa!!!!


Samson is the classic example of this relation. Samson's mother was visited by Jah and told:

For, lo thou shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a nazarite unto God
from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. (Judges 13:5)


i respect everyone's opinion on the hair issue and for those that don't feel like this was important in Greek Life....Get over it and keep it moving!

this is something that does effect us everyday. at one time it was the color of our skin, now it is the texture of our hair, what next...how big our feet are?

[Corbin Dallas]

I sure hope foot size never comes into play, I'd be screwed! I just got a new pair of sneaks, and they were bigger than the last, size 15!

On the hair issue again. I think it's interesting how some religions or sects of religions condemn long hair, when Jesus is always portrayed as having long hair. of course he's also always portrayed as a white man too, but I'll not get into that.

------------------
Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

[DELTABRAT]

I feel that people should be allowed to waer their hair any way they damn well please.

Thank you Soror MaMaBuddha for schooling folks up in here.

As a person who had locks for 6 years they are very liberating and they definitely send a message of not only empowerment but that of pride in our African culture. I had since cut me locks (I now rock the bomb ass bald head...well..not BALD but think Me'shelle N'Degeocello (no she IS BALD)...forget it...Sinead O'Connor). My reasons for doing so was basically because I felt that the "energy" that had been absorbed by my locks ( other people's energy, was negative (I twisted my hair when it was shoulder length and therefore there was already 19 years worth of "energy" already in my hair). I WILL grow locs again, but I think I will be older and wiser about my life decisions at that junction in my life and thus not be compelled to shave them off, again.

OKAY, why did this become a biography about me and my locks. Probably because I miss them dearly (I still have them in a wooden box I got from Trinidad & Tobago)

Okay, but yeah, the man should be able to wear his hair however, as long as they are neat. Quiet as it's kept, though ,TRUE Rastas tend to have less neat locks than those who wear them as a fashion statement. We've all seen Rastas and they have one HUGE dread or several dreads that have locked into one big one.



[This message has been edited by DELTABRAT (edited July 26, 2000).]

[Black Diamond]

Being a Sister who has Locks, I feel they should leave him alone. Now I can understand if they require him to keep them a certain length, because being someone in uniform he may have those restirctions, but to make him cut them off?.......HELL NO!. I am a professional and I PROUDLY wear my Locks. We CANNOT let others dictate to how or which stlye we wear our hair. Some feel it is not appropiate to have anything other than straight hair. WRONG! As long as it is neat and not a hazzard to your profession or the people you serve...Let people be and let them wear their hair as they choose!

That's just my $19.08


Black Diamond
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
Ladies of Distinction!
Spr. 91

[Sexy Mocha]

Well said Black Diamond!

[Paragon1922]

Man...I've gotten add my 22 cents to this topic.

First of all, I think that as long as he kept his locks under his hat, then there should be NO problem. I can see if his hairstyle actually inhibited him from doing his job, but if it doesn't, then the department needs to stop trippin'.

Nice, well-kept, long, full locks are beautiful and not WILD. Isn't there something wrong with society when black people can't just rock their twists, afros, cornrows, braids, bantu knots, and locks without being looked at funny by other people (it's especially tragic when other black people have the nerve to look at them crazy, but that's a whole diffent topic...) and being discriminated against?

I have had my hair natural now for about six years, and how I wear it is completely dependent on my mood when I wake up in the morning...my ultimate goal is to grow it so long that when I turn my head, I'll be able to hit people in the head with it (j/k). So if someone doesn't want to give me a job or fires me because of my hair, I wouldn't have wanted to work for such a dsicriminatory, narrow-minded institution anyway. I know that I have enough skill, intelligence, and amibition to find a much better opportunity for my professional growth.

Peace, and mad love to those fine, nubian men rockin' them locks!!! (you know you look good...lol)

Paragon #3
Spr. 2000
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. -Eta Chapter

[Poplife]

I am also a young black women who wears a natural style. At first I used to straighten it for job interviews, but now I don't even worry about it. I'm tired of people's narrow-minded idea of professionalism. Besides, like many people have been saying as long as it's groomed then it's all good.

A locked coworker was discussing his hair with me, and we discovered we both are very attached to it in a spiritual way. I can't describe it..but I'm sure those of you who dared to "give your hair back" know what I mean.

Anywho, things like this happen all the time...in the greek system, on the job, with the family (my mom wanted me to keep perming soooo badly). But I love my hair a lot more than other people's approval.

[AlphaChiGirl]

Yuck. Mullets...I can go on forever about how much I hate them. I'm from North Florida (affectionately known as the Redneck Riviera), and I see them ALL THE TIME! I don't see them in Rhode Island (where I go to school)...but I see them here! Men, women, children, black, white, Asian...all looking like Billy Ray Cyrus.

However...the topic at hand...locks. I feel as if they're hygenic, tucked under the hat, and don't interfere with his duties in anyway, he should be allowed to have them. Same goes if there was a mullet-wearing cop.

[tickledpink]

Has anyone ever seen http://www.mulletsgalore.com It is one of the funniest sites I've ever seen!

[/QUOTE]

***lol***. Corbin, thanks for the site. I didn't know what a "mullet" was.



[This message has been edited by tickledpink (edited July 27, 2000).]

Hellooooo,
i see this situation as nothing more than a safety concern. living in nyc there is no way that police officers can have hair in the way. whether it is tied back or left down it is not permitted by the police dept. one is aware of these rules and regulations before they graduate from the academy so if there is such a problem then do not do it!!
i work in corporate america in nyc and the environment that i work in allows dreds, pink hair, basically anything fashionable. in some of these small towns in the us maybe this type of nonconformism is not accepted, but in nyc hell yeah!!

[thatgirl]

girlietoo, what are you talking about. You sound like a fool. NYC is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world! It makes no sense to deny this man the right to practice freedom of religion. And while you brought up the pink hair thing, let me make this crystal clear:

It's NOT the same thing
A man being allowed to wear his hair in it's NATURAL state is not to be compared to a person who deliberately dyes or chemically treats their hair in order to stand out. This should not be compared to body piercings either. You choose to pierce your body. You choose to tattoo your body. These are changes that are made by you. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just saying that it's not fair to make it akin to what this man was doing. In essence, the police department is telling him NOT to be natural. There is something terribly wrong with that. He's not trying to make a statement, he's simply trying to live his life as the man that God created him, the way that God created him.

[This message has been edited by thatgirl (edited July 27, 2000).]

[Sexy Mocha]

I didn't know what a mullet was either until I went into the official mullet website
If we're gonna be fair, let's be fair...people with mullets have the same right to wear their hair anyway they choose, as does people with locs, perms, mohawks, pink hair etc...WHY anyone would want to wear a mullet hairdo is beyond me though!

[Diarra]

Ok. people don' t hurt me , but let's play the devil' s advocate. Someone mentionned that the guy's dread locs were an expression of his religion. Well from what I understand this country is supposed to be laic so I could see somehow why in a PUBLIC insistution, the demonstration of one's religious beliefs could not be allowed. Another person mentionned, that if a Jewish was coming to work with his religious " hat" nothing might be said to him... well we all know what happened when a school wanted to displaced the ten commandement in front of their main gate... ...
Anyway I understand that someone would want to wear their hair naturally, (well I am too), it is fine for corporate america but when you work for the government there are certain regulations that you have to abide to because they are inherent to the "constitution of this country as far as religion considerations". That was just a thought!
Have a blessed day all.

[MaMaBuddha]

^5 to my soror Deltabrat and my sistafriends thatgirl and Black Diamond.


it brings joyous tears to my ears to see all...those who are natural!!!

Soror DeltaBrat..let me find out you are sporting the baldy...that is so fly (remember that word?)