Women’s Center want minority students to be proud of their hair

Hellen Akinyi
Staff Writer

An event focused on the beauty of the black women’s hair, how to take care of it, and some ways black women can style their curls, called “Hair Me Out” was held on campus Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Shadow Rolan, the grad program advisor in the Women’s Center, organized the event as part of the Black History Month events to celebrate the curls black women have and was hosted in the Women’s Center in the Centennial Student Union. She wanted to talk all things hair based on the “stereotypes” surrounding it.

“The reason I planned this event is because there has been a lot of controversy and discrimination around black people’s hair,” Rolan said. “And most of the black students I spoke with started to feed into those negative stereotypes about black [people’s] hair.”

She talked about how versatile and unique the black women’s hair is and it being Black History Month, she had to remind people of that.

She had different hairstyles black girls could attain with their hair, as well as what products to use depending with the hair texture. She moisturized her hair with the products she had and styled different hairstyles, showing how easy it is to attain the looks. She even gifted some of the products out to the audience.

The CROWN Act is a bill that most states in the U.S. are trying to pass to avoid discrimination against natural hair across all field from work place to school. The act did play a role into allowing black men and women into embracing their curls.

Rolan talked about her own journey about her hair. “My hair is definitely something I came to love later in life,” said Rolan.

Despite Rolan growing up in a family of a hairstylist and constantly changing her hair, it took her a while to fully embrace her curls. “When I became older was when I fully loved the kinky curls on my head,” Rolan said.

Apart from showcasing the different simple styles one could achieve, the event also focused on healthier ways to take care of the curls, which would enable one to fully embrace them as they follow on along the journey. “I am still embracing my natural hair but I love black hair and the many styles we can wear,” Rolan said.

Rolan finally added that she embraced her curls as she got older, mainly because one gets to know more about their hair as they age.