Upcoming Exhibition

This this year's image for the National Association of Women Artists 135th Annual Exhibition at One Art Space in New York City during the month of June is entitled:

                                     Uzuri wa Utamaduni (Cultural Beauty)

Worn by a variety of cultures in Africa, antiquity documents the wearing of Locs or Dreadlocks and braids back to 3000 BC in the Sahara Desert. Locs can also be traced to ancient Egypt and the Minoan Civilization in Crete, among others. Depending on the culture or ethnic group, Dreadlocks are worn for many reasons including religious or spiritual beliefs, rites of passage, ethnic pride, the rejection of capitalism and colonialism.

“The Crown Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) is a law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, which is the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists or bantu knots.” Enacted on June 27, 2019 and signed into law on July 3, 2019 in the state of California, 24 states, including Texas have now adopted this legislation.

However, that has not stopped Texas high schools from suspending more than one student for wearing locs. The most recent case, 2023-2024, involved a high school male who wears his locs atop of his head in a barrel roll. The superintendent of the boy’s school district stated that “being an American requires conformity.” A judge sided with the school in February saying the school did not violate the Crown Act. The parents of another student brought a similar suit against this same school just a few years back. Mothers report hair discrimination aimed at their daughters as young as five years old.

While these and similar cases are viewed around the world, it does little but reflect the glaring, abhorrent t bias still faced by people of color across the globe. The Crown Act has failed to pass the US Congress twice.