15: Hair is hair

Welcome back to another episode of Speak Out 253! Today we are joined by YWCA Associate Board members Gaby, Samie and Laine to talk about hair care and the intersection of hair and race.

For several years, the Associate Board has organized a 253 Club happy hour event centered around collecting hair care donations for clients living in YWCA’s safe shelter. YWCA Pierce County serves diverse communities and we continually strive to provide options for our clients and the hair care drive is no different. When advertising this event, the Associate Board has struggled with how to communicate that they are seeking inclusive hair care products for all types of hair. You can walk into most drugstores or grocery stores and find a few full aisles of haircare products, but when it comes to haircare items for black and brown people the selection is vastly limited. Not only is this section separated from the ‘normal’ hair care items (and usually tucked away), it’s extremely expensive. This distinction of us versus them reinforces the normalization of whiteness – hair is hair. This idea of normalizing all types of hair drives our conversation today so join in!

Links:

[Hear Elizabeth Acevedo’s poem on hair](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I11xCfnzXs)

Robin DiAngelo’s article: [White people are still raised to be racially illiterate. If we don't recognize the system, our inaction will uphold it.](https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/white-people-are-still-raised-be-racially-illiterate-if-we-ncna906646?fbclid=IwAR3BmOxbU1eCsVzfRqY4c7QRD_5KFFtyfkR3EVJH0c8B4XML-Wnem2ZA5RM)