The chemicals in relaxers put black people at risk for cancer, fibroids and could cause premature labor in women, according to Gillian Scott-Ward, a clinical psychologist and director of the documentary, “Back to Natural.” Her film documents the history and global policing of black people’s hair, why anti-natural hair messages became ingrained in black communities, […]
The NYC Commission on Human Rights announces its first settlement involving race discrimination on the basis of hair following the February 2019 release of its landmark legal enforcement guidance. The settlement with Sally Hershberger Salon and Sharon Dorram Color concludes a Commission-initiated investigation into reports of discriminatory grooming policies enforced against Black employees. The legal […]
The upscale New York City salon has dozens of high-profile clients like Meg Ryan, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Christie Brinkley and Renée Zellweger. However, the swanky Manhattan hairdresser was forced to pay a $70,000 fine and commit to training “employees to work with Black hair and help advance the careers of […]
USA Today explores the issue 6-year-old Clinton Stanley Jr. being banned from entering the classroom by administrators on his first day of school. The administrator cited a school policy banning dreadlocks. Such guidance also can inflict psychological harm, says Gillian Scott-Ward, a psychologist in New York who directed the hair and racial identity documentary “Back to […]
The fight for the freedom to wear our Natural Hair is going strong. Following California and New York, new jurisdictions like New Jersey, Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Maryland and proposing legislation to explicitly ban race-based hair discrimination. I spoke with the Washington Post recently about these important changes and our film, Back to Natural. […]
Back To Natural: A Documentry © Film
