08x11 - Afro-textured hair

[bunniefuu]

Hi there!

Welcome to the show.

Still taking place

In this blank void.

It's actually the place all your

Airpods go when you lose them.

I bet you thought this was

Rattling around your car's

Floor mats.

Nope... It's mine now!

Into the pile you go!

It's been a busy week,

From republicans trying

To oust liz cheney from

House leadership,

To california gearing up

For the recall election of

Governor gavin newsom.

Multiple candidates have already

Filed to run against him, one

Of whom released this ad:

This beauty has proven he

Can't do it.

Pretty boy.

The beast can.

This time, make the right choice

For california and your family.

Recall the beauty, and elect

The nicest, smartest beast

You've ever met.

John cox.

All of that's idiotic,

But I'm going to focus on the

Fact that he seems to think

The problem in "beauty and

The beast" was about choosing

Between the two, when everyone

Knows the problem was, how are

These two f*cking?

We know it's happening,

We know it's great,

And we know it's weird,

But how exactly does it work?

Do they take special precautions

Around the flames to avoid

Burning, or is the burning part

Of it?

Same question, but about the

Feather duster and sneezing,

Is the sneezing part of it?

I hope the sneezing is part of

It!

That guy committed to the bear

Metaphor, even bringing one

To a campaign event, only

To complain the next day that

"The coverage yesterday was all

About the bear."

And yeah, no sh*t.

You brought a literal

Dancing bear.

The universal metaphor for

"Distracting gimmick people pay

Attention to instead of whatever

The f*ck you're talking about."

Meanwhile, the week saw

The latest attempts to undermine

The democratic process,

With texas and florida

Continuing the trend of

Republicans enacting

New voting restrictions.

Florida's governor ron desantis

...a man with a vibe that

Screams "will flirt with your

Teenage friends"... Signed

A bill, live on

"Fox and friends," for some

Reason, that targets ballot drop

Boxes and voting by mail.

Meanwhile, in texas, their new

Voter-suppression bill initially

Featured a line about the

Importance of protecting

"The purity of the ballot box,"

Leading to this awkward exchange

With one of its sponsors.

Did you look at the history

Before using that word?

No, no, the only thing, if we

Were to have a discussion...

Maybe over some coffee or

Drinks, one day, I could go into

The details of article one

Really well.

I've read the debates and the

Journals of the convention of



But I'm not familiar.

You may have missed it then.

That provision was drafted

Specifically to disenfranchise

Black people... Black voters,

In fact... Following

The civil w*r.

Did you know that?

No, that's... That's... I'm

Sorry to hear that.

Yeah, I bet you are!

Although, I'm guessing you're

Less "sorry to hear the

Historical connotations of that

Phrase " and more, " sorry to hear

That publicly, especially in

Front of all these f*cking

Cameras."

But perhaps the stupidest

Election-related story is

Currently taking place in

Arizona, where republicans have

Been trying to relitigate the

Presidential election by

Recounting all the ballots

In the state's most populous

County.

This is yet another tally of

The nearly 2.1 million ballots

In maricopa county.

But this so-called audit is

Unlike any other.

These are ballot counters

Heading into a shift.

Have you ever done election

Counting before?

No.

But it's... There's nothing to

It.

It's pretty obvious.

Yeah, that's not

Reassuring!

Normally when a guy in those

Sunglasses says, "there's

Nothing to it, it's pretty

Obvious," he's seconds from

Reversing his brand new atv

Through the front window of a

Fuddruckers.

The audit company in charge,

Cyber ninjas, is owned by an

Advocate of the stop the steal

Movement.

And obvious bias aside,

The process alone seems seems

Pretty slipshod.

Arizona's secretary of state has

Expressed alarm over accounts of

Ballots being left unattended,

And untrained workers using

Different rules to count

Ballots.

All of which the audit official

Twitter account

Disputed as "baseless

Claim-ees."

And it's genuinely insane to

Swoop into a county that,

Remember, has already done

Multiple audits of its election

Count, finding no evidence of

Fraud... With the attitude of,

"Okay, but what if we do it

Shitty this time?"

And it gets even worse when you

Consider the secretary of state

Is now receiving death threats.

And all of this is so they can

Chase down crazy conspiracy

Theories like this one.

There's accusations that



To arizona?

To arizona.

And it was stuffed into the box,

Okay?

And it came from the southeast

Part of the world, asia, okay?

And what they're doing is to

Find out if there's bamboo in

The paper.

And why do you check for

Bamboo?

Because they use bamboo in

Their paper processing.

Who's they?

People in southeast asia.

Wow.

"Southeast asians attempted to

Sway the 2020 election in

Arizona via bamboo ballots"

Sounds like something your

Drunkest uncle would say before

Passing out at his niece's

Sixth birthday party.

And look, that's obviously

Nonsense.

And in fairness to that man,

He doesn't believe any of it.

He runs a nonprofit focused

On election fairness, and is

Volunteering, hoping this

Process manages to disprove many

Of these crazy theories.

Which is a nice idea.

The problem is, though, the

People behind this recount

Aren't going

To be convinced, unless the

Results swing their way.

And we know this because...

Again... There have already been

Multiple audits conducted in

Maricopa county and they weren't

Convinced by the results.

And the thing is, arizona is

Playing a dangerous game here.

And things are probably only get

More volatile.

Arizona's

Recount is like that guy

Bringing a bear to his event,

In that it's chaotic,

It's pathetically desperate, and

We'll all be lucky if nobody

Gets seriously hurt.

And now this.

And now...

Happy mother's day from the

Disappointing men of local news.

I got a lot of moms,

Related moms in my family.

My wife is a mom, my mom mom.

Your mom mom.

My stepmom and my

Mother-in-law.

So.

Wow.

Yeah, I got four people that

I disappoint.

She hinted you should know

What to get her for this

Mother's day.

Did you figure this out?

No, I didn't.

Actually, I did suggest

Something that I thought she

Wanted, and then she told me,

No, that would be a terrible

Idea.

Mother's day is sunday.

Do not forget.

High temperatures are



If you have any good ideas for

My wife, let me know.

Last year, I got my wife,

Like, a $40 bouquet for

Mother's day.

It was beautiful.

This year, I am buying for four

Moms.

So $10 bouquets all around.

Don't make the same mistake I

Made.

Don't give her a wonderbra for

Mother's day.

Nathan, you got your mother

Your mother's day gift ready for

Mom and your wife?

Yeah.

Moving on.

Our main story tonight concerns

Hair.

Specifically, black hair.

The subject that gave us

The single greatest

"Real housewives" entrance

Of all time:

When kenya moore crashed

Marlo hampton's wig launch with

A marching band to promote her

Own line of hair products, and

Porsha williams reacted like

This.

Even if I did agree with

Kenya and the fact that people's

Edges matter, they don't matter

Today, bitch.

You are wrong.

This is absolutely insane, okay?

So today, I don't agree.

But tomorrow, yes, my edges

Matter, and I'll be using the

Product.

You know what?

As per usual, porsha is right

About a number of things:

Kenya is wrong, edges do matter

And i, like porsha, will be

Using the product tomorrow.

Monday is my wash day.

And look, I realize I'm not

The ideal person to talk about

Black hair.

I look like I still go to an

Old timey barber named valentino

And ask for "the tidy

Liza minnelli."

And I also know that the danger

Is, when a white guy on tv

Starts confidently talking about

Black hair, even with the best

Of intentions, it can end

Something like this:

I didn't want the little

Tea light to overheat and then

All of a sudden, we've got

Breaking news here at the

Channel.

I told you if the sprinkler

Systems come on, I'm done for

The day.

Yeah.

You know, that is not...

Sitting up here looking like

A mop.

That is not.

Yeah.

You know what?

Sprinkler system and a beautiful

Weave because, they do not go.

Ahh!

What?

You're beautiful.

You said it was a weave,

Right?

It's not!

Oh, my god!

Wow.

That is the exact right reaction

To announcing your black

Coworker's hair is a weave

Live on-air.

Getting up from your desk and

Just running away.

Running forever.

Running until your life fades

Behind you and your feet touch

The ocean.

Now you should know, those two

Coworkers seem to have gotten

Over that incident, putting out

A video titled "blaine and laila

A rebuttal,"

Where blaine says he's learned

The difference between

Quick weaves, lacefronts, and

Sew-ins because of their

Friendship.

But the fact is, on the whole,

White people don't really

Understand a lot about

Black hair.

And by the way, if your first

Reaction to that was,

"Hey, not all white people,"

Maybe look inside yourself and

Figure out why that is your

Response to things.

But importantly, that lack of

Understanding... And lack of

Interest in understanding... Can

Have real consequences, from the

Personal to the professional,

As you probably know, either

From experience, or from seeing

Stories like this:

Chastity jones was tangled

In a nearly 10-year legal battle

After she says an employer took

Back a job offer at an alabama

Call center because she refused

To cut her hair.

She said, "are those

Dreadlocks in your hair?"

And I just looked at her and

I was like, "these?"

And she said, "yes."

I said, "yes, they are."

She said, "well, we can't accept

That here."

Can you imagine turning

Someone away who wants to work

At a call center, the universe's

Most thankless job?

A place where you answer the

Phone and immediately, there's

An angry woman screaming at you

Because some of the broccoli in

Her hello fresh kit "didn't

Smell right" and now she wants

To speak to mr. Fresh.

If you have someone who wants to

Do that job, let them!

What's on their head has nothing

To do with it!

They could show up to work

In a wig made of living ferrets,

And they deserve not only that

Position, but double whatever

You're paying them.

The point is, black hair is

And hairstyles frequently yet

Another target of

Discrimination.

So tonight, let's talk about it.

And let's start by understanding

Why black hair is so important.

For centuries, black people in

Africa innovated ways to protect

And prolong the health of their

Hair, and that practice has

Continued and evolved into

Beautiful and distinct

Hairstyles, with a deep

Connection to culture and

Heritage.

And for as long as that has

Happened, white people have been

Unable to handle it.

One of the first things

sl*ve traders would do was

Shave the heads of enslaved

People, which erased their

Cultural identity.

And black hair has historically

Been described in dehumanizing

Fashion, with racial typologist

Charles hamilton smith

Describing his hierarchy of

Three main types of people:

The beaded caucasian type, the

Beardless mongolic type, and the

"Woolly-haired tropical type."

And the only time "woolly-haired

Tropical" is an acceptable term

To use is if you're talking

About madagascar's

"Woolly lemur," a tropical

Little sweetie who always looks

Like he just accidentally

Replied all.

Other than that,

It's off limits.

By the late nineteenth century,

Beauty companies were

Advertising products like

Skin lighteners and

Hair straighteners, reinforcing

The idea that black hair was

Dirty and unkempt, and the

Closer your appearance was to

Whiteness, the better.

Like in this ad from 1900 for a

Magnetic comb that promised to

Destroy the "hair germs" on your

Head and take you from a

Curly-haired black person to

A straight-haired white one.

And the desire to make black

Hair smoother and straighter

Was so strong, just listen to

The sheer delight this british

Newsreel takes in showing the

Process.

Combs come into play.

Kept constantly heated, they are

Passed through each section of

The hair until all trace of

Kinkiness disappears.

It's not all plain sailing

Naturally, and it's not quite

A permanent permanent, if you

Follow me.

If the hair gets really wet or

Steamed up, it unstraightens

Itself and back come the kinks.

Oh, noo.

Hearing that beauty standard

Reinforced in that particular

Voice is definitely a sign that

Something has gone terribly

Wrong.

And I know for some viewers,

Passing a hot metal comb through

The hair to straighten it might

Look like a curio from the

Distant past.

But I guarantee some of you were

Just transported back to being



Stool in the kitchen at 6:00 am

On school picture day, holding

Your ears down while your mom or

Grandma gets the hot comb

Uncomfortably close to your

Scalp.

For some, the smell of burning

Hair is a sign that something's

Wrong.

But for others, it brings back

Memories.

By the 1960s and '70s, though,

The embrace of black hair's

Natural texture and culturally

Significant styles had become

A radical act of self acceptance

And political power.

Who taught you to hate

The texture of your hair?

Who taught you to hate the color

Of your skin?

To such extent that you bleach,

To get like the white man?

Uh, white people.

The answer is white people.

That question answers itself.

Just like the answer to the

Who lets their dogs

Kiss them in the mouth?

Who wants to pick apples

For fun?

And who's coming to dinner on

Ina garten's show?

The answer is, white people.

But despite the natural hair

Movement, white people's

Discomfort and ignorance around

Black hair has very much

Remained.

One study found black women were



The statement, "I have to change

My hair from its natural state

To fit in at the office," and

Another found that black women

With natural hairstyles were

Perceived to be less

Professional, less competent,

And less likely to be

Recommended for a job interview.

The point is, the way your hair

Is perceived... And therefore,

The way you are perceived... Can

Manifest in all sorts of ways.

I know the anxiety that

People have after getting their

Hair done then, like, "okay,

What's going to happen when I go

To work?

Are they gonna say anything?"

You know, it's a big thing

In the workplace.

A lot of people don't want to

Draw attention to their self

So they try to do the norm.

A lot of the time, I would

Always get people just, like,

Saying how, like, soft my hair

Is and everything and like

Wanting to touch it.

That's, like, always a big

Thing.

No, you can't touch it.

And, like, adults doing that

Too, I'm like...

It's grown women.

You can't touch it!

You know, you don't touch

No black women's hair, you

Already know that, like...

It makes you feel like you're

In a zoo.

Look, you obviously

Shouldn't be made to feel like

You're in a zoo, ever, for any

Reason.

Also... And it's not the point

...but if you're touching

Animals at the zoo, you're doing

The zoo wrong.

Don't be stressing the otters

Out by shouting unwanted

Questions and trying to sneak

Your hands into the cages to

Cop a feel.

Yes, the bald eagle's feathers

Are laid, but don't shout

"Yaaas, qween" and try to pet

Her.

Unlike your coworkers,

The eagle will snap your

f*cking fingers off.

And you will have it coming.

Unfortunately, though,

White people's biases and

Ignorance are often just laying

In wait for the right moment

To strike.

Jonathon sutherland is the

Penn state football captain and

A dean's list student.

But what people are talking

About tonight is his hair.

That's thanks to this letter.

The author is a proclaimed

Alumnus from decades ago named

David petersen.

He calls sutherland's hair

"Awful."

Stating his locs are

"Disgusting and are certainly

Not attractive."

He also writes,

"We would welcome the

Reappearance of dress codes

For athletes."

Everything about that's

Upsetting.

From the r*cist attitude,

To the hurtful language,

To the fact that he chose

To express moral outrage over

Something in college football,

But it's not that the ncaa makes

Millions off student athletes,

Instead, it's "I can see your

Hair outside your helmet."

That man later explained he only

Wrote the letter because

"I was just disgruntled about

Some of the hairdos that we're

Seeing.

You think of penn state as a

Bunch of clean-cut guys."

And "you think of penn state

As" is just not a sentence that

Ends well under

Any circumstance.

Especially when you realize,

That man actually got a degree

From penn state in 1966, the

Same year as jerry sandusky.

Who somehow... Despite his

Short hair... Turned out to be

A heinous sex criminal.

I know it sounds ridiculous,

But it's almost like the haircut

Doesn't f*cking matter.

And it starts way before

College.

You may remember the terrible

Case of high school wrestler

Andrew johnson, who was

Basically forced to cut his locs

Off or forfeit an important

Wrestling match by a referee.

That case made national news,

But there are hundreds of others

That don't.

From the school in kentucky that

Once banned... And I quote...

"Dreadlocks and corn rolls,"

To twin sisters in massachusetts

That received hours of detention

Because of their braided hair,

To this daycare in suburban

Chicago.

Mom may like the smell,

But according to this note

Tionna norris posted on her

Facebook page,

Amia's teacher didn't like it,

Basically saying...

Your child stinks.

Don't put the coconut oil

In her hair.

The kids were teasing her.

Norris says amia was the only

Black child in her preschool

Class at the raggedy anne

Learning center in elmhurst.

I was just hurt for my child.

Especially after norris says

She met with the teacher and

School administrator and learned

The children in the class never

Complained.

It was just the teacher who

Didn't like the smell.

We called the school and left

Several messages.

We visited and got this.

Hi, I'm dorothy tucker from

Channel 2 news.

Goodbye.

Wow.

That feels like a perfectly

Staged five-second play

Encapsulating the history of

Race relations in america:

A black person trying to discuss

Racial inequality with a white

Person, who then immediately

Says, "goodbye!"

So black people, from an early

Age, are often told their hair

Is unattractive.

And needs to be corrected.

And that is already just...

A lot, before you even start

Getting into all the ways that

Society makes it difficult to

Navigate the world because of

Your hair.

Even just buying hair products

Can be an unnecessary challenge,

With black hair products

Routinely locked in a case where

Someone has to come with a key

To get it for you... Or maybe

Even "walk it to the register"

...in the same aisle where

Products for white people that

Cost just as much or more are

Simply sitting out on the

Shelves.

And the explanation for that is

Never great.

So I went and found the

Manager and I said, "I'm waiting

For the key for shampoo and

Conditioner."

I said, "but let me ask you,

Why are the black hair products

Locked up and not the white hair

Products?"

He said, "umm," and another

Associate said, "well, people

Have been stealing."

Yeah.

Now that walmart claimed it was

Based on data of theft

In the store.

But when a town council member

Asked to see that data, the

Store instructed her to call

"1-800-Walmart."

And just out of interest,

On a touchtone phone, which

Button do you press to hear the

Bullshit data used to justify

Locking up $4 eco styler gel?

Is that, like, number 7 or do

You have to ask for an associate

First?

So it's already hard enough to

Get products to do your hair at

Home.

But finding a qualified stylist

Can be even harder.

The cosmetology industry mostly

Revolves around, and trains for,

Caring for straight,

Non-textured hair.

So there is no guarantee that

A stylist in your area can work

With black hair... Just watch

One tiktoker call 23 salons in

Their hometown, and get nothing

But responses like these.

I was wondering if you guys

Work with african-american hair,

Specifically 4c type?

Uh, we do not.

None of the girls here do, no.

Um, we don't really have

A lot of experience.

So I would say you're probably

Better to keep looking around.

I was wondering if you guys

Were able to work with

African-american hair,

Specifically 4c type?

Oh!

Hold on just a minute!

Let me ask!

Is anybody familiar with

African-american hair?

Not very much.

Yeah, that's not great.

But I do love that receptionist

Is asking the entire staff,

Like she just got called as a

Phone-a-friend on

"Who wants to be a millionaire."

"Hey, donna, it's the $25,000

Question.

Can you do a silk press and bump

Those ends?

She can't."

And this isn't just a problem

In salons... Even in hollywood,

Stylists who are both familiar

With black hair and in the

Hairstylists' union are rare.

And actors definitely know when

Their production failed to hire

One.

I was on this show.

They made me a series regular.

I was hella pumped, walked in

The hair and makeup trailer

First time.

"Oh, sh*t.

I'm about to, like, get paid.

Let me see."

Homegirl, this white lady,

She tapped my head.

Yup!

Not lying, she tapped it,

Sprayed some water... Didn't

Brush, didn't comb, and left.

And I was like, "oh, wild!"

I actually recommend

Going back and watching each

Actor in that clip as he tells

That story,

Because you really get the sense

That

Every one of them identifies

With what he's saying.

And it's not ideal that for

A lot of hairstylists, their

Strategy to deal with black

Clients is the same you'd use

To get your cat off the kitchen

Counter.

Give them a little spritz and

Then give them a pat on the head

So they know you're not mad.

And when you consider all of

The obstacles that get placed in

The path of black people, it's

Understandably pretty hard to

Take when white people wear the

Same exact same hairstyles that

They get judgement for.

From bo derek, famously wearing

Braids in the movie "10" to

Adele and miley cyrus trying on

Black hairstyles for fun, to

This comme des garcons fashion

Show, at which the models wore

Lace front cornrow wigs,

Which were awful in every

Possible way.

I mean, look at that thing!

There is enough room between

Each braid to land a f*cking

Plane, and you don't even have

To look closely to see the

Model's dark hair through the

Lace.

Come on!

You put a wig cap on first,

Then you put the wig on!

You grab your got2b spray

Or wig glue, you melt that lace,

And you lay those edges down

So well they fall asleep.

There are only two situations

Where that appalling level of

Wig application is acceptable:

Either you're in the middle of

Hosting an episode of "snl," or

You're posing as a british nanny

To stay close to your children

After your divorce.

That is it.

And the thing is, white people

Appropriating black hairstyles

Isn't just infuriating... It can

Directly make it harder for

Black people to fight

Discrimination concerning their

Hair.

There was a court case, 1981,

A discrimination suit filed by a

Black woman named renee rogers.

She'd worked for american

Airlines and she wore her hair

In cornrows.

Her legal argument was that her

Hairstyle was a part of her

Cultural heritage.

The judge ruled against her in

Federal court because he said

She got her hair done soon after

The movie "ten" came out.

And therefore, there was no

Legal basis for saying it was

Cultural heritage because

She was doing something that

Essentially was imitating how

Bo derek styled her hair.

Yeah, it's true.

Among the reasons he dismissed

Her case, the judge suggested

That a black person wearing a

Traditionally black hairstyle

Was just copying a white

Celebrity, who stole it from

Black people.

Which is just ridiculous!

Hairstyles have cultural roots.

They don't just come out of

Nowhere to sweep the nation,

With the sole exception of

"The rachel," which wasn't

Appropriated from any culture.

It simply sprang forth,

Fully-formed, from the concept

Known as "the '90s."

And I wish I could say that's

A thing of the past, but you

Know it isn't.

Chastity jones, the woman you

Saw earlier, spent years

Appealing her case, only to

Lose, in part, because judges

Interpreted civil rights law

To protect against

Discrimination based only on

"Immutable" or unchangeable

Characteristics associated

With race, like skin color.

So for decades, courts have

Found that hairstyles, even

Though they are deeply tied to

Racial identity, are not

Covered.

And all of that means that a

Younger generation can still end

Up having to deal with this

sh*t.



Has worked at this

Banana republic store at the

Westchester mall in white plains

For just about a month.

She was called into a meeting

With her manager on wednesday,

Caught completely off guard by

What happened next.

He was like, "yeah, so, the

District manager came in and she

Pointed out your hair."

And I'm like, "okay, so what's

Wrong with my hair?"

He said, "it's a little too

Urban and unkempt for our look

And for our image.

We were just wondering, like, if

You could just take them out."

Okay, putting aside the

Use of the word "urban"... A

Level of tone-deafness on par

With naming your store "banana

Republic "..." Just take them

Out?"

Those are words from someone who

Has zero idea of what it took to

Put them in in the first place.

That's coming from a man who,

I'm guessing, has never spent

Seven hours in a salon chair

With an ipad full of movies and

A backpack full of snacks.

Now you should know, the store

Called that unacceptable, and

The manager was fired.

But the problem is, since

Professionalism gets defined by

White standards and

Expectations, black hair

Is more likely to crash into

Those expectations.

So what can we do?

Well, for some of the smaller

Issues you've seen tonight,

There have been changes.

Some chain stores, including

Walmart, have announced they'll

No longer be locking up

Black hair products.

Which feels like the least they

Can do, but it is a start!

A bigger change would be to

Pass laws like crown acts, or

"Creating a respectful and open

World for natural hair."

Versions have already become law

In these 11 states.

And while the language varies,

Generally, they expand

The definition of race in

Anti-discrimination laws to

Include traits historically

Associated with race, like

Protective hairstyles, such as

Braids, locs, and twists.

Unfortunately, crown act bills

Have repeatedly met with

Republican opposition.

In utah, in one recent zoom

Hearing on their bill, state

Senator derrin owens... Who

Voted against it... Made a point

Of first addressing the bill's

Advocates like this.

Let me make a comment,

You people are beautiful.

I don't normally do this, but

I'm going to share.

I was in the store

The other day.

And, uh, you won't be able

To see this picture, but this

Gentleman in front of me... A

Black man... Had two young

Children and they were just

Having fun around, up and down

The aisle.

And I don't normally take

Pictures of children,

But they were adorable,

Two black children.

Because they were just the

Cutest kids in the world.

One has cornrows and one of them

Dreadlocks.

I wish you could see that.

What are you doing,

You exceptionally weird man?

He started off

There by telling a group of

Black women, "you people are

Beautiful," then proceeded to

Say, "I don't normally take

Pictures of children, but"...

A perfectly acceptable sentence

Until the "but" part.

Then launched into a story about

How he keeps photos of

Strangers' children

On his phone.

All of which evokes a response

Perhaps best summed up by this

Expression, which I'd argue is

An absolute masterclass in how

To say "the f*ck?"

Using only your eyebrows.

And if you're wondering how he

Got from that to voting against

The bill, his argument was that

He felt existing laws were

Sufficient, and that "it almost

Looks like we're trying to do

Something that doesn't exist."

But this discrimination isn't

"Something that doesn't exist,"

It's "something that doesn't

Exist for white men who've never

Had to think about it before."

The consequences of hair-based

Discrimination are very real.

Just listen to connecticut state

Senator gary winfield make the

Case for his state's crown act,

In the run-up to it passing into

Law, by talking about his

Three-year-old daughter.

Right now, she runs through

Life with all of the energy that

She has, with all of the beauty

That she has with her hair

Natural.

That's who she is.

It's not just what sits on top

Of her head, it is who she is.

But I want her to be able to

Participate in this world fully,

And so even if she runs through

This world with her natural

Hair, there will be a discussion

About what it is to run through

This world with her natural

Hair.

And what she will have to learn,

Whether she makes the choice to

Run through this world with her

Natural hair or not, is that a

Part of her is not acceptable.

That's awful.

It's infuriating that

Black children have to add

"Hair discrimination" to the

Long list of things they're

Already forced to think about,

Like the thr*at of police

v*olence, the danger of

Harassment by r*cist

White people, and of course,

The very real risk of getting

Photographed by utah state

Senator derrin owens

In a f*cking checkout line.

That man's daughter, and all

Black people, should clearly be

Able to make choices about their

Hair based on what they feel

Like doing with it, rather

Than, "will this get me harassed

Or fired?"

If you want to have

Natural hair, great!

You want to straighten

Your hair, great!

Whatever you like!

The point is, black hair

Shouldn't be viewed, corralled,

Or judged by white people's

Comfort.

Because it doesn't belong to

White people, it doesn't affect

White people, and white people

Really don't need to have an

Opinion on it.

And our laws should reflect

That.

And I know there may be limits

To what crown acts can

Accomplish.

Even if one passes at the

Federal level, there could

Be cases where a white judge is

Asked to decide whether

A specific hairstyle is

"Associated with race" and

Completely fucks it up, but

They are a start.

If you're not

A black person, it's probably

Easy to hear these stories and

Think "well, it's just hair,"

But the thing is, it's not.

It's not at all.

Black people aren't getting

Hired, or are getting fired...

Black students are being teased,

Taunted, and removed from school

...all because of their hair.

And crown act laws could make a

Real difference there.

And while social stigma and

Unrealistic beauty standards

Aren't going to go away

Overnight, there are a few

Things that white viewers,

In particular, might want to

Keep in mind going forward.

And to that end,

If you are one, there's a

Message you should probably

Hear.

Hi, white people.

Hi, white people.

I'm leslie jones.

What's up, black people.

Brothers and sisters.

You good?

Your mama good?

All right, listen, I got to

Talk to these white people for a

Second.

I see you at the meeting.

Look, white people.

I know you have lots of

Questions.

Like, may be too many

Questions.

Like, how often do you have

To wash black hair?

What is a silk press?

What does it do rag do?

We are about to fill you in.

We are about to give you answers

To all your questions about

Black hair.

Are you ready for it?

Are you ready for it?

Are you ready for it?

Google it.

Google it.

f*cking google it.

It doesn't have to be google.

It can be f*cking bing.

The information is out there.

Once you get the information,

You can appreciate the beauty

And hard work it takes to keep

My hair laid and looking good.

If you aren't interested in

Googling it, you there is

Another option.

Leave us alone.

f*cking off is always an

Option.

White people, don't tell me

You can figure that out.

You figured out settlers of

Catan.

You figured out sourdough.

You can learn what a box

Braid is, bitch.

Basically, google it.

Don't touch it.

One more thing.

Don't spray my water and tap

My head.

I'm not a cat.

Bye.

That's our show.

Thank you so much for watching.

We'll see you next week.

Good night.