What historical laws oppressed textured hair heritage?

Roots

To stand upon the earth, rooted in ancestral wisdom, is to understand that the very strands crowning our heads hold stories—tales whispered across generations, etched into the helix of our being. For those with textured hair, particularly within Black and mixed-race lineages, this connection is profound, a living archive of resilience and identity. Yet, history’s shadow stretches long, marked by deliberate efforts to sever this bond.

We speak of laws, yes, but more deeply, we speak of societal constructs that sought to diminish a birthright, to categorize a sacred aspect of self as lesser. This journey into historical laws that oppressed textured hair heritage is not merely an academic exercise; it is an act of remembrance, a tracing of the enduring spirit that refused to be confined, that found ways to bloom even in the harshest of soils.

Ancestral Connections to Hair

Before the transatlantic voyages reshaped human destinies, hair in African societies was a vibrant language. It communicated social standing, marital status, age, spiritual devotion, and even tribal affiliation. Intricate patterns, braided with purpose and adorned with natural elements, were not merely decorative; they were living maps of identity and community. Hair care was a communal ritual, a time for shared stories and the passing down of knowledge.

The act of styling hair became a bond, a thread connecting individuals to their collective heritage. This reverence for hair, as a conduit to the divine and a marker of social identity, was a deeply ingrained aspect of life.

The Disruption of Identity

The violent arrival of the transatlantic slave trade marked a brutal disruption of this heritage. One of the first acts of dehumanization inflicted upon captured Africans was the shaving of their heads. This was not merely for hygiene, though that was often the stated reason; it was a calculated assault on identity, a deliberate attempt to strip individuals of their cultural markers and sever their connection to their past.

Without the tools, time, or communal support, maintaining traditional styles became nearly impossible for those enslaved. This forced neglect, coupled with the introduction of Eurocentric beauty standards that deemed coily hair unattractive, began to internalize a harmful perception of textured hair as “bad” or “unruly.”

The forced shaving of heads during the transatlantic slave trade was a calculated act to strip enslaved Africans of their cultural identity and sever their deep connection to hair.

Early Legal Shackles

As communities of free Black people began to emerge, particularly in places like New Orleans, their cultural expressions, including elaborate hairstyles, were perceived as a challenge to the established social order. These styles, often adorned with jewels and feathers, drew admiration and even romantic attention from white men, inciting resentment among white women and those in power. This perceived threat to racial and social hierarchies led to some of the earliest documented laws targeting textured hair heritage.

• The Tignon Laws of 1786 ❉ Enacted in Spanish colonial Louisiana by Governor Esteban Rodriguez Miró, these sumptuary laws mandated that women of African descent, whether enslaved or free, cover their hair with a tignon—a scarf or handkerchief—in public.
• Purpose of the Tignon Laws ❉ These laws aimed to visibly mark Black women as belonging to the slave class, regardless of their freedom, and to curb their social mobility and perceived allure. They sought to enforce a rigid racial hierarchy and prevent mixed-race women from “passing” as white.
• Resistance Through Adornment ❉ Yet, the spirit of those targeted was not easily broken. These women transformed the mandated tignon into a statement of defiance and beauty, using luxurious fabrics, vibrant colors, and intricate wrapping techniques. What was intended as a symbol of oppression became a canvas for cultural pride and artistic expression, a testament to enduring heritage.

The Tignon Laws, while no longer enforced after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, set a precedent for the policing of Black hair that would persist for centuries. They serve as a powerful historical example of how legal frameworks were deployed to oppress textured hair heritage, not merely as a matter of appearance, but as a means of controlling identity, social standing, and racial boundaries.

Ritual

Stepping from the echoes of foundational oppression, we arrive at the living practices, the rituals that have sustained textured hair heritage through centuries of challenge. This exploration acknowledges the deep-seated desire within communities to honor their roots, to tend to their hair not just as a physical entity, but as a repository of memory, a symbol of resistance, and a source of communal strength. Here, we delve into how historical laws, though often designed to constrain, inadvertently shaped the very rituals of care and styling, compelling innovation and fostering a unique practical knowledge passed down through generations. It is a journey into the adaptive spirit, where hands that once braided rice seeds for survival later perfected techniques to preserve and adorn, even under the gaze of a society that sought to devalue their natural crowning glory.

The Shadow of Assimilation

The aftermath of slavery, though a step towards freedom, brought new pressures. The pervasive Eurocentric beauty standards continued to cast a long shadow, influencing perceptions of “good” versus “bad” hair. Straight hair became associated with social and economic mobility, leading many Black individuals to seek methods of altering their natural texture.

This period saw the rise of hot combs and chemical relaxers, tools and substances often developed by Black entrepreneurs like Madam C.J. Walker, who, while building wealth, also contributed to the widespread practice of hair straightening as a means of assimilation.

The Civil Rights Movement and Hair as a Statement

The 1960s witnessed a profound shift, a powerful reclamation of heritage through hair. The “Black Is Beautiful” movement, intertwined with the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, declared that natural Black features, including textured hair, were inherently admirable. The Afro became a potent symbol of self-love, pride, and resistance against oppressive beauty standards.

Activists like Angela Davis sported the Afro as a political statement, making it a visible assertion of Black identity. This period saw a resurgence of traditional styles, adapted and celebrated as expressions of cultural affirmation.

The “Black Is Beautiful” movement of the 1960s transformed textured hair into a powerful symbol of cultural pride and resistance against Eurocentric beauty norms.

The legal landscape, however, lagged behind this cultural awakening. While some courts, such as in the 1976 case of Jenkins v. Blue Cross Mutual Hospital Insurance, began to uphold the right to wear Afros under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, these protections were not universally applied to all natural hairstyles. This inconsistency set the stage for ongoing battles over hair discrimination in workplaces and schools.

The Rise of Protective Styles and Their Policing

Even as the Afro gained acceptance, other traditional styles, like braids and cornrows, faced scrutiny. A notable example occurred in 1981, when a Black woman challenged American Airlines for demanding she not wear her hair in braids. The court sided with the airline, reasoning that braids were not an “immutable racial characteristic” like the Afro.

This ruling established a legal precedent that would allow employers to discriminate against specific protective styles, further illustrating how legal frameworks could be used to oppress expressions of textured hair heritage. This narrow interpretation of race continued to marginalize many traditional Black hairstyles, forcing individuals to choose between their cultural expression and their livelihoods.

The social pressure to conform persisted through the 1980s and 1990s, with media often promoting pressed and permed hair. Yet, the seeds of natural hair resilience had been sown. Communities continued to practice and refine protective styling techniques, often out of sight, within the intimate spaces of homes and salons, preserving these ancestral methods even as mainstream society resisted them. These rituals, passed from elder to youth, became quiet acts of defiance, maintaining a living connection to heritage.

Relay

From the foundational roots and the enduring rituals, we now step into the complex relay of historical laws and their ongoing impact, a dynamic interplay where the past informs the present and shapes future trajectories of textured hair heritage. This deeper exploration invites us to consider how legal strictures, once wielded as instruments of control, continue to reverberate through societal perceptions, subtly influencing not just individual choices but also the broader cultural narratives surrounding hair. We seek to understand the intricate mechanisms through which science, societal norms, and ancestral wisdom converge, offering a profound insight into the resilience of textured hair and the communities who cherish it.

The Enduring Legacy of Bias

Despite significant cultural shifts and the rise of the modern natural hair movement in the 2000s, discrimination against textured hair persists. Studies have provided empirical evidence of this bias. For example, a 2016 Perception Institute study suggested that a majority of people, regardless of race and gender, hold some bias toward women of color based on their hair.

A 2020 Duke University study further found that Black women with natural hairstyles were perceived as less professional and less competent. These biases are not mere opinions; they translate into tangible disadvantages in employment and education.

• Workplace Discrimination ❉ Cases like Chastity Jones, who was denied a job offer for refusing to cut her locs, highlight the ongoing struggle. While the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) argued that race includes “cultural characteristics related to race or ethnicity,” including grooming practices, courts have often ruled that locs are a “mutable—or changeable—characteristic,” and thus not protected under existing race discrimination laws.
• Educational Discrimination ❉ Students have also faced disciplinary action for wearing natural styles like Afros, dreadlocks, and twists, with schools often deeming them “distracting” or “extreme.” These policies disproportionately target Black children and reflect a deep-seated bias against textured hair in institutional settings.

The continuous policing of textured hair stems from a historical context where European beauty standards were imposed as the norm, pathologizing African hair textures. This legacy of racialized hair discrimination, rooted in the desire to reinforce social hierarchies, has shaped public perception and legal interpretations for centuries.

Legislative Progress and the CROWN Act

In response to persistent hair discrimination, a new wave of legislation has emerged, seeking to provide explicit protections for textured hair. The CROWN Act, standing for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is a legislative effort aimed at prohibiting discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles.

The CROWN Act represents a modern legislative effort to dismantle centuries of hair discrimination, explicitly protecting natural textures and protective styles.

California led the way, passing the first state-level CROWN Act in 2019. As of June 2023, twenty-three states have followed suit with similar legislation. While a federal CROWN Act has been proposed and passed by the House of Representatives, it awaits consideration in the Senate.

This legislative movement is a direct acknowledgment that existing civil rights laws, like Title VII, have not been sufficient to address the specific nuances of hair discrimination against Black and mixed-race individuals. The argument for these laws rests on the understanding that natural hair and its culturally specific styles are inextricably tied to race and thus warrant legal protection.

The Interplay of Science and Heritage

Understanding textured hair, from its elemental biology to its care, is incomplete without acknowledging its deep heritage. Modern hair science can now validate and explain many long-standing traditional hair care practices. For instance, the unique physical properties of afro-textured hair, such as its spiral-shaped curls and tendency for shrinkage, necessitate specialized care to maintain health and hydration. Ancestral wisdom, passed down through generations, often intuited these needs, leading to the development of specific ingredients and techniques for moisturizing, protecting, and styling textured hair.

These practices, once seen as mere tradition, are increasingly recognized for their scientific efficacy. The connection between science and heritage is a continuous dialogue, enriching our appreciation for the ingenuity of historical hair care and the resilience of traditions.

The journey from oppressive laws to protective legislation, from forced assimilation to proud reclamation, highlights the enduring significance of textured hair heritage. It is a story of how communities have transformed symbols of subjugation into markers of distinction, how ancient practices continue to inform modern understanding, and how the fight for self-definition persists. The relay of this heritage is not merely a historical account; it is a living narrative, continually shaped by individual choices and collective movements that assert the inherent beauty and dignity of textured hair.

Reflection

As we close this exploration, the echoes of historical laws that sought to diminish textured hair heritage linger, not as a lament, but as a testament to an indomitable spirit. The very strands that crown our heads, with their unique coils and undeniable strength, carry the whispers of ancestors who defied oppression, who transformed mandated head coverings into declarations of beauty, and who passed down the knowledge of care and adornment even in the harshest of times. The journey of textured hair is a profound meditation on resilience, a living archive of identity and belonging.

It is a continuous narrative, where the past informs the present, guiding our hands as we tend to each strand, honoring the deep lineage that flows through every curl and wave. The story of textured hair is not merely one of survival, but of a vibrant, ever-evolving heritage, continually asserting its radiant presence in the world.

References

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• Ellington, T. & Underwood, J. L. (2020). Textures ❉ The History and Art of Black Hair. Schiffer Publishing.
• Gaines, A. (2017). The Politics of Black Women’s Hair. Duke University Press.
• Greene, D. W. (2017). Splitting Hairs ❉ The Eleventh Circuit’s Take on Workplace Bans Against Black Women’s Natural Hair in EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions. University of Miami Law Review, 71(4), 987-1012.
• Jacobs-Huey, L. (2006). From the Kitchen to the Salon ❉ The Politics of Black Women’s Hair. Routledge.
• Mercer, K. (1994). Welcome to the Jungle ❉ New Positions in Black Cultural Studies. Routledge.
• Patton, T. O. (2006). Hey Girl, Am I More Than My Hair? African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair. Journal of Black Studies, 36(6), 868-888.
• Rooks, N. M. (1996). Hair Raising ❉ Beauty, Culture, and African American Women. Rutgers University Press.
• Tucker, W. M. (2007). African American Hair ❉ A Cultural History. Millbrook Press.
• White, S. & White, G. (1995). Slave Narratives. Oxford University Press.