Touch Not My Crown: America’s Black Hair Reckoning

The past two years witnessed a drastic turn in the way states in the U.S. think of and formulate laws relating to the grooming of black natural hair, including Locs, Afros, Twists, Bantu knots and Cornrows.

Benjamin P. Tetteh will present his research which documents the centuries of racist laws and policies targeting black natural hair across institutions – including education, security, employment, professional associations to even the prisons. His research also celebrates the growing natural hair movement which has been pivotal in the recent attempts by some states to pass laws prohibiting discrimination based on natural hair.