00:00Ooh, can I touch your hair?
00:01Can I touch your hair?
00:02Oh my god, can I touch it?
00:03Oh my god, it looks so different.
00:06Oh, your hair.
00:07I'm just going to touch this real fast.
00:09It's so cute.
00:09Can I touch this?
00:11No.
00:12Since the beginning of time, women of color
00:14have had to grapple with fascination surrounding our hair.
00:19It can be flattering, but it gets a bit problematic
00:22when our space and privacy gets invaded.
00:25Yes, and this is a common tale shared by women of color
00:28from all over the world.
00:30Apparently, just because our hair is different and diverse,
00:33people think that it's okay to stare at it,
00:36to make really rude comments, and every now and then
00:39you'll get the person who wants to reach in and touch it.
00:42Ew.
00:43When people reach out to touch my hair, I feel appalled.
00:47I feel some type of way.
00:48Give them a mean side eye and make them a hand.
00:53Please don't.
00:54Please ask me first.
00:56How would you like to be touched without permission?
00:59I just find it offensive.
01:01I'm not an animal.
01:03This isn't a petting zoo.
01:05I think it's great that people like my hair,
01:07but I would prefer that they admire it from afar.
01:10It's all about consent, people.
01:12Ask before you do.
01:13If I say yes, go ahead.
01:15If I say no, then back back.
01:17I think that we live in a day and time
01:19where people know how we feel about that.
01:22I mean, Solange put a whole song out about it,
01:24so at this point, it's like you need to educate yourself,
01:26so you will get this sass.
01:28Unfortunately, this ain't nothing new.
01:31Women of color have had to deal with oppression and discrimination
01:33towards our hair for years.
01:36Do you remember the time when the military was actually banning people from wearing locks?
01:41I do.
01:42Do you remember the time when a Boston charter school tried to give black girls detention
01:47for wearing box braids?
01:49Unfortunately, I do.
01:50But the saddest story of them all is when the teacher cut the seven-year-old black girl's hair
01:55just because she said that it was too distracting.
01:59When I hear about women being discriminated because of their hair,
02:02it really bothers me because I'm like, why?
02:05It's your hair, and I feel like no one else really gets discriminated
02:10because of their hair except us.
02:12No matter how your hair looks or how you look,
02:14it doesn't mean that you can't get the job done
02:17and that your work ethic is any different.
02:19No se puede llevar del pelo de la persona pensando que esa persona no entiende el lenguaje suyo.
02:24I don't understand how we can be oppressed and discriminated towards our hair,
02:29but at the same time, folks want to emulate those same hairstyles.
02:33How can you hate us for wearing it, yet you want to wear it?
02:37It doesn't really make sense to me.
02:39I think that a lot of people think that black women are unicorns.
02:43And I get it.
02:44Like, we're diverse and our hair is different and we just come with these funky colors
02:48and all these beautiful mixtures of things, but we're still people.
02:53So, please do not reach in to pet us.
02:55It's not okay.
02:57But alas, we are finally entering a time when we are unapologetically loving and embracing our hair.
03:04Black women's hair comes in different shapes, sizes, lengths, coils, and textures.
03:09Right now, black women are rocking it, we're loving it, and we own it.
03:26The moment you stop comparing yourself to other women hair-wise and honestly everything else-wise,
03:32you're going to feel immediately better and more secure in your skin.
03:35We can literally just take something as simple as hair and just adorn it and make it in a way
03:42that is so unique and different.
03:45And so, I guess that's what I like the most about the versatility of my hair is that it really
03:49shows off the culture that I'm from.
03:51Your hair is your tie to the motherland, you know?
03:56Like, this is what our ancestors had.
03:59So, when you're wearing your crown, like, that's your tie to our history and our culture,
04:02and you should never be ashamed to wear that in public.
04:05However your hair may be, enjoy it, embrace it, and love your hair.
04:09A black woman's hair is her crown and glory.
04:26I adorn my crown by making sure it's moisturized.
04:30I put little gems in my hair because my heart needs a mending.
04:34I think she's a symbol of feminine power and beauty.
04:37I adorn my crown by speaking loving words to my hair.
04:42The power of life and death is in your tongue,
04:44and so you should really always speak positively and with love towards yourself.
04:47I adorn my crown by wearing it as big as possible every day.
04:51This is powerful.
04:54Please take some time to acknowledge it,
04:57and when you see another girl walking down the street with an afro or with locks or some cool-ass
05:03braids with beads,
05:04I want you to be able to look at her and be like,
05:05Yes, sis, I see you girl!
05:09I see you!
