WEBVTT - 012724 Black Student Suspended Over Hair (Part 1) 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:03.040 Broadcasting from the Hip Hop Weekly Studios. I'd like to 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:05.880 welcome you to another episode of Civic Cipher, where our 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:08.959 mission is to foster allyship empathy and understanding. 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:10.320 I am your host, ramses. 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:13.280 Jockey is ramses Jah. I am q Ward. You are 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:14.520 tuned into Civic Ciphers. 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:18.520 You are, and we have another interesting show in store 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:20.520 for you today, so please stick around. We are going 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:24.160 to be discussing something that bothered me quite a bit 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:27.800 this week. You know, I'm not easily bothered. Well, I 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:30.840 guess I'm always bothered, but this one really bothered me. 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:32.760 You'd have to be a lot less aware to be 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:33.400 less bothered. 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:35.320 Yeah, yeah, but this one, this one really did rub 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:35.920 me the wrong way. 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.840 There is a student, a black student, that was suspended 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:46.360 over his locks, his hairstyle in Texas and on this show. 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:49.280 Famously, I've really been. 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:54.400 On top of stories like this, national stories where you know, 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:59.640 people come under scrutiny for their hairstyle because you know, 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:03.480 our hair grows different and I famously have a ton 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.040 of hair, and so I feel like I kind of 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:08.880 got to, you know, protect those that end up in 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:11.640 the cross hairs. There. Oh that's fun. Yeah, So we're 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:16.200 going to talk about that story and the implications, and 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:23.160 we're also going to talk about cultural appropriation, you know, 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:26.080 and why that's a big deal and it's because of 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:28.000 stories like this. I'll make the connection for you in 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:30.440 just a bit. We're also going to be talking about 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:35.880 the mister Ronnie Long conviction. He was convicted and he 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:39.240 had his conviction overturned after being in prison for forty 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:42.959 four years, and they tried to say sorry with seven 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:47.280 hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which was insulting and insane. 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:49.680 Yeah, because forty four years is not worth that. 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:51.920 But you know, we have the whole story to tell, 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:56.160 and I promise there it gets deep because we were 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.600 talking about wrongful convictions and rates and everything. 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:00.560 So stay tuned for all of that and more. 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:03.880 The first and foremost, like we always do with this time, 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:07.800 let's discuss some ebony excellence, shall we? 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:08.360 We shall? 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:10.400 You want to grab this one? This one's kind of fun. 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:15.960 This week's ABNY Excellence sponsored by Actively Black. There's greatness 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:21.040 in our DNA www dot actively black dot com. This 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:26.480 story is from TMZ. George Clinton is forever exton Hollywood history. 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:30.240 Now it's about time. He just got his star on 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.800 the famous stretch of pavement with a lister's names up 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:37.239 and down the boulevard known as the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:40.639 The pigpunk legend was just honored with a star on 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:44.200 the Walk, and his Friday ceremony drew a huge crowd 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.639 with an even bigger celebration. We're not kidding either, There 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:50.960 was a massive swath of people lining the block to 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.720 peek this. Of course, George commanded attention with his sparkling 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.800 color form. You dazzled with outfit shining from his shoes 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:00.960 to his pants, to his shirt, to his jacket all 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:04.640 the way up to his headwear. This amazing icon is 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:06.760 eighty two years old and does not look at trust me. 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:10.120 As you know, George has been leaving his mark on. 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:11.520 Music since the nineteen sixties. 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:14.560 He was huge in the nineteen seventies and had a 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:19.280 rebirth recently in the Trolls movie franchise. Now Home is 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:22.520 finally getting his Now the homie, as they stated it, 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:24.600 it's finally getting his dude from La La Land with 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:27.960 a certified star on the ground. Just a quick list 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:33.360 of his band's hits, Give Up the Funk, Flashlight, Aquaboogie, 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.720 Tom mcdogg. Can you dig it? Can you get to 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:38.400 that mothership connection? 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:39.280 And we could go. 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.480 On for hours talking about George Clinton and p funk hits. 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.400 So it's good to see him finally getting his recognition. 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:49.360 Check out TMZ's gallery for more pictures. Shout out to 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:51.840 George Clinton, man, I could be timeless music. 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:53.560 Yeah, I got a chance to see him in concert 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:55.760 once and. 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:55.880 Shout out to Parliament. 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:57.920 And if you're one of our younger listeners and you 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:01.000 don't know who he is, he basically the guy everybody 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.680 on the West Coast sampled in the nineties. Absolutely, all right, 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:11.320 So first order of business, let's talk about this black 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:17.359 student that was suspended over his hair locks. Well, the 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:24.080 reason that this story stood out to me is because. 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:27.799 The superintendent pushed back. 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.400 Okay, so we hear stories like this all the time 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:36.680 where there's a student that ends up in some kind 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:40.520 of trouble because of a hairstyle whatever, and then you know, 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:42.680 they work it out and then it's it's fine, or 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:44.080 they don't work it out and the student has to 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:46.400 leave the district because, as it turns out, there are 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:51.160 just some places that don't want to bend. In this instance, 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:54.880 the principle pushed back. So let me tell you a 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:57.479 little bit more about the story before we break it 0:04:57.520 --> 0:04:59.480 down into pieces. So I'm gonna read a bit from 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:06.240 the messenger. Right, Texas school district superintendent defends the continued 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:10.240 suspension of a black student over his locks, hairstyle, and 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:15.719 a full page newspaper ad paid for by an education foundation. Okay, 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:20.000 real quick locks used to be known as dreadlocks, but 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:25.680 the word dread wasn't a word that we used in 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:28.000 describing him. There were always locks. We would lock our hair, 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:32.520 and so if you're familiar with the term dreadlocks, that 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.600 is now a bona fide offensive term. 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.920 We just go with locks. Okay. 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:44.360 Darryl George has been suspended repeatedly by the barber Hill 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:47.920 Independent School District for his hair. The teen's family filed 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:51.160 a federal civil rights lawsuit, saying the punishment violates the 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.600 Crown Act, an acronym for a creator respectful an open 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:58.560 world from natural hair, which became law in Texas in September. 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:00.840 We have actually covered the past of the Crown Act 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:05.760 on this show. It's a federal law, it's federal protection anyway. 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:09.760 The law is intended to prohibit race based hair discrimination, 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:12.320 but the school said the law does not address hair 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:16.239 length and that is the reason for George's suspension. However, 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:18.880 photos of George show him wearing his hair up in 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:21.520 a way that does not reach below his ears. The 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.919 ad that appeared Sunday in the Houston Chronicle was written 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:27.159 by district Superintendent George Poole. 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:28.320 Quote. 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:33.679 Being an American requires conformity with the positive benefit of unity, 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:38.640 he stated, referencing strict codes at the military academies. The 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:42.000 district's policy doesn't prohibit students like George from wearing locks 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:45.120 or braids, but it does limit hairstyles for boys, banning 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:49.320 anything quote that would allow the hair to extend below 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.240 the top of a T shirt collar, below the eyebrows, 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:57.440 or below the ear lobes when let down. Okay, So 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:01.000 this is the position that the super intendent is taking, 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:06.720 taking out a full page ad to basically say no, 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.159 this is a violation of the rules. 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:24.280 Okay, And where I how this hit me? Is so 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:30.160 hard to say this? Okay. When something is racist, we 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:31.559 will say it's racist. Okay. 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:33.920 When there's an example of racism, we'll say it's an 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:37.560 example of racism. But I often worry that when we're 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:43.280 talking to particularly non black listeners on this show, that 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:49.760 if they cannot see the overt racism, then they might 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:52.960 push back and say, oh, these guys are just calling 0:07:53.040 --> 0:08:00.680 everything racism, and that's why we need to have today's conversation. Okay, 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:07.560 it is possible for a person to be racist, for 0:08:07.760 --> 0:08:11.560 racism to exist, and the person doing it either not 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:17.000 know not intend for it to be racism, or be 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:23.640 you know, interpreted that way, or they might hide behind 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:28.240 things like these these rules, these technicalities. I don't want 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:30.640 to say rules, because rules of rules, that's fair, but 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:38.760 these technicalities, right, and then you start having these back 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:40.680 and forth as you know, Q, I've been kind of 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:42.679 on our social media real heavy, and there's a lot 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.000 of people that will pick apart any facet of a 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:48.960 conversation that they can sink their teeth into. And yet 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.880 and still wrong is wrong and right is right right, 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:54.160 So if they want to argue a little tiny point 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:58.960 of an argument, it doesn't mean that the entire statement 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:03.600 that I've made aid or that the right thing is 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:08.200 not right anymore. Okay, the truth is the truth. It 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:10.560 doesn't need to be perfect. It can just be the 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:13.480 truth right and the right thing is the right thing. 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:20.040 So here's where I have to just kind of lean 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:20.960 into this. 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.160 This is racism, okay. 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:24.920 And I respect that you know, you may not see 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:29.920 it that way, But racism requires a power dynamic. Okay, 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:37.880 this superintendent has power in the equation. Okay, This isn't prejudice, 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:41.160 prejudices just I don't like you, you don't like me. Racism 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:47.240 means I have power and I can limit your reality, 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:52.080 your life, your prospects, et cetera, using that power, and 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:57.959 it will be used specifically based on your race. 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:00.600 It would be used against you based on your race. Okay. 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:04.959 Now, briefly, I want to share something with you. Okay, 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:15.000 you might be looking for in your racism. You might 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:18.280 be looking for the inWORD. You might be looking for 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:22.080 again the overt racism. But there are blind. 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.559 Spots that exist in a lot of people's realities. 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:28.600 One blind spot that existed for me, even for a 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:36.720 long time, is that locks are a part of Rastafari religion. Right, 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:42.240 so it is an expression of their faith, not unlike 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:48.199 seek people. Okay, if for those unfamiliar with Seek people, 0:10:48.280 --> 0:10:50.680 these are the people that will often wear their hair 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.559 in turbans, and they don't believe in cutting their hair 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:55.520 so they'll have long beards and long hair. The men 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:57.240 and the women, they just do not cut their hair 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:06.360 for their whole life, right, and they are protected as 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:10.000 a result. That's freedom of religion, right. But blind spots 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:13.000 to people like the superintendent who may not have delved 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:16.920 ever into any facet of black culture beyond I saw 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:20.280 rap music videos when I was in college, you know, 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:24.280 because my friends watch them. May not be aware that 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:28.079 the locking of your hair is a permanent commitment when 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:29.240 you have hair like ours. 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:31.160 If you have straight hair, you can unlock the hair. 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.960 I've done it to Asian women, shout out to April, 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:39.520 she's married to Andre three thousand and now. But for 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:42.719 black hair will not unlock. It is permanent. It is 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:50.040 a commitment. And for those people who are Rastafari, it 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:53.480 is symbolic like the lion. It's just my hair will 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.400 be here and I'll grow my dreads or my locks. Sorry, 0:11:56.520 --> 0:12:02.160 this is as long as nature will allow, right. So 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:04.960 I wanted to make sure that I said that first. Next, 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:07.840 I wanted to make sure that I established that this 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:12.720 view of hair is a very Eurocentric view of hair. 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:19.840 This is what our hair looks like. When it's when 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:21.920 it's shaped a certain way. This is the styles that 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:28.280 we like. So you conform to our hairstyles because he 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:32.720 remember he said that, what does he say? Being an 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:39.679 American requires conformity? I love that statement, because being an 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:43.640 American requires conformity to what exactly. 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:46.400 By? 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:47.800 Who isn't even better? 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:54.880 Bye? Who? Thank you? Thank you? And let's be factual here. 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:59.320 If you get to decide what the conformity looks like, 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:05.720 that limits me. If in fact, my hair grows differently, 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:10.839 I cannot change the nature of my hair growth. It 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:18.000 just grows that way, right, And so we start to 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:22.000 understand what racism is, even if there is no intentionality 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:26.440 behind it. It is an act that is in and 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:31.400 of itself racist. Right, you have the power, and you 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:37.560 get to decide, from your eurocentric viewpoint what hair styles 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:41.640 are allowed. When my hair doesn't grow like yours, it 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:46.439 cannot grow like yours. Your hair cannot grow like mine. 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:49.200 We are two different people. 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:53.120 Being able to dictate what conformity means, right right. 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:57.240 Wow, that'd be like me saying your hair can only 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:02.600 be brown or blonde. Me saying that, and then someone 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:05.680 shows up with red hair and me saying, your hair 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:12.800 can only be brown or blonde conformity. Well, if your 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:16.120 hair grows out of your head red, then there's probably 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:17.440 something wrong with the rule. 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:18.440 Okay. 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:23.360 And if I impose that on you still, then there's 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:26.280 your example of racism, because I'm the one with the power, right, 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:28.320 and there's no one listening that would say that's fair. 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:30.080 Oh yeah, Well, if you decide that's the rules and 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:32.280 redheads can't participate. 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:32.880 No one would say that. 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:36.400 Okay. Now, I know we're talking about hair length, and 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:40.360 I talked about the hair length that people that lock 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:43.200 their hair. The idea is for the hair to grow 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:47.920 and locks is a protected style, the very idea of it. 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:51.040 The more interesting thing is that the language in this 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:54.840 conformity or this rule states that it's a certain length 0:14:55.360 --> 0:15:00.480 when worn down, an intentional stipulation. Yeah, so that you 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.320 cannot pin up, tie up, right up, or lock up 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:08.560 your hair. So to avoid this us enforcing this very 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:09.920 very targeted rule. 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.920 On you right now, flip this. Uh you know? 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:15.760 I well, will you know, if you're able to get 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:20.120 to our podcasting platforms, we'll have a picture of Daryl 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:25.080 George up so that you can see this beautiful young 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:28.040 man and his hair is hair is dope right now. Now, 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:32.000 to me, you know, that's not offensive. It's it looks amazing, 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:35.280 to be honest with you. But to someone with let's say, 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:42.520 white supremacist values, let's be fair, and a eurocentric viewpoint, 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:49.280 it might seem offensive. Okay, And we I recognize that 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:53.360 these educators need to get students ready to go out 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:58.040 into the real world, and they're trying to push whatever. 0:15:58.160 --> 0:15:59.000 I don't know what it is. 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:05.440 But what we're saying, not just me and Q, what 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:08.840 black people, brown people, marginalized people have been saying is 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:11.600 that the world needs to conform to us because we 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:13.200 were born like this. This is how we show up. 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:14.840 Okay. 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:21.400 So this superintendent has the opportunity to move first and 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:23.720 has chosen instead to double down by taking out an 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:24.440 ad in the paper. 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:25.920 He's getting sued by the. 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:33.240 Way, all right, Oh, I wanted to make this point too, 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:35.760 because when he says that we have to conform, being 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:42.080 an American requires conformity with the effort going toward unity. 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:45.080 Everybody has to conform except for one group. 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:50.960 With the effort going towards unity. Of course. 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:51.400 Okay. 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:57.400 So the funniest thing about this statement by far and 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:04.240 away is that he says, being an American requires conformity, America, 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:11.480 the land of the free. Being American requires conformity. I 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.080 want to say that again, America, the land of deformity 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:17.560 was the entire reason that they broke away from Great 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:18.720 Britain in the first place. 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:21.200 Listen, man, you see what I'm saying. 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:22.879 So this is why I pray the way that they 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:24.840 wanted to and live the way that they want to, 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:29.439 not be taxed without representation, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. All these 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:33.359 unalienable rights reserved only for them, which we have to 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:36.680 continue to revisit all of these things. And listen, and 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:38.359 the Bill and rights of the Constitution to all of 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:40.760 these great freedoms that we are supposed to enjoy as 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:44.840 citizens of this country, designed for buy and to the 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.399 benefit of a singular group throughout the entire history of 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:50.080 this country. And it remains. 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:51.280 Yeah. 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.640 Now I mentioned that I was going to talk about 0:17:54.760 --> 0:18:01.879 cultural appropriation. Okay, let me see how I want to 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:09.600 break this down for you. Okay, as you know are 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.800 longtime listeners of the show. If if you've listened to 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:15.919 the show for some time, you know that I belong 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:23.720 to some really far right racist. 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:23.639 Message boards on the Internet. 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:26.600 The reason for that is that I need to know 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:31.240 what racist plan people. These are openly racist people. They 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:36.560 say the most vile things about everybody, even their own 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:38.560 you know, people, other white people. 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:40.920 It's a really hateful group. 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:42.479 It's really sad that I have to be there, but 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:44.000 I have to be there because I need to know 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:45.080 what these folks are talking about. 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:49.000 Well, they have to be there, well for the sake 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:49.440 of the show. 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:50.880 And I go there. I go there so you don't 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:53.879 have to think I got you trapped. No no, no, 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:56.520 no no, I go there this hate group. No no, 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:58.280 I go there for the benefit of the show and 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:02.280 our listeners. But well they send me the messages. 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:07.719 But anyway, I remember a post being made about. 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.280 Cultural appropriation in there, like why are black people always 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:12.680 mad about cultural appropriation? 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:13.600 And Native people? 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:17.680 You can't wear Native this and Asian costumes for Halloween 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:21.760 cultural appropriation And then it showed a black woman with 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:25.520 blonde hair, and they're like trying to say that this 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:29.320 is reverse cultural appropriation, right, Okay, don't. 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:32.000 Make my point. Worst people ever to play Oh no 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:32.880 with man. 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:36.479 Listen, And I want to say that that's not the 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:38.720 same as. 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:41.920 Maybe white people with locks. 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:50.120 Okay, Now, cultural appropriation is tricky because I do recognize 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:52.240 and respect that there are some people who don't belong 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:56.000 to a certain culture that want to celebrate that culture. Indeed, 0:19:56.040 --> 0:19:58.000 I mentioned there was an Asian woman who locked her 0:19:58.000 --> 0:19:59.280 hair and I helped her comb it out. 0:19:59.400 --> 0:19:59.600 Right. 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:01.960 I don't think that she was a bad person, you 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:03.879 know whatever, And of course that was in the nineties 0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:11.200 or whatever. But I recognize that cultural appropriation is tricky. 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:13.720 But for folks to push back, I want to offer 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:19.280 this The argument is that black sorry that white folks 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:24.840 can copy black people hairstyles and ways of dressing and 0:20:24.880 --> 0:20:30.919 so forth without the risk, and often enough, if a 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:35.040 black person is copying something from a white person, that 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:43.000 is that sort of conformity that not as placed on us. Indeed, 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:46.520 it's a necessity often enough for us to be able 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:52.200 to survive in this country with its visible and invisible 0:20:52.680 --> 0:20:59.359 white supremacist racist influences. And so you know, there's country 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:02.640 book in the countries around the world where people will 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:05.880 lighten their skin, people will straighten their hair, people will 0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:11.800 do all kinds of stuff to look the part, to 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:15.040 try to get more access whatever it is that everybody's 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:19.439 playing the same game, and the game is unfair and 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:21.960 rigged in favor of people who were born with that 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:28.400 set of genetics, right, And what we're pushing back against 0:21:28.640 --> 0:21:31.520 is that that should not be the only way for 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:37.439 a person to be viewed as acceptable. That should not 0:21:37.480 --> 0:21:42.720 be the only path to success. And indeed, the framework 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:46.120 that exists right now limits artificially people from being who 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:50.960 they were born to be, living the fullness of the 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:53.159 life that they deserve to live in the body in 0:21:53.200 --> 0:22:01.000 which they were born. And when white people, often it's 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:06.040 white people, but other people can culturally appropriate. When people 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:08.680 do that, it feels like they're just taking a bit 0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:10.280 of it instead. 0:22:09.880 --> 0:22:10.640 Of living it. 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:13.439 They don't live it, like where it's like you have 0:22:13.520 --> 0:22:16.439 to deal with getting kicked out of school because you 0:22:16.720 --> 0:22:22.560 decided to wear your hair locked, you know. And again, 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:24.520 we don't talk about all the stories that come this way. 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:28.639 It takes a national story for us to make a point, 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:32.280 and in this case, in particular, a national story where 0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:36.119 the superintendent doubled down by taking out an ad in 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:39.560 the paper. And so I hope that this gives you 0:22:39.600 --> 0:22:42.120 a little bit more of an idea of a how 0:22:42.160 --> 0:22:45.080 important hair is to me, but also how important hair 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:47.160 is to black people. We've done the history of hair, 0:22:47.440 --> 0:22:50.520 how they used to braid, their different tribal signatures and 0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:52.240 the hair and all so forth. It's very important to 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:57.680 black people historically speaking and still today. And we hope 0:22:57.720 --> 0:22:59.960 you're better for having this conversation with us.