Embrace Your Natural Crown, It’s World Afro Day
Ceata E. Lash
Founder, Inventor & CEO | 4 US Patents | Speaker | Inc. FF 200 | Goldman Sachs 10KSB | RICE Founding 100 | New Voices | Shea-lister | TUCK Exec Ed | MBE | WBE
Did you know this week we celebrate World Afro Day? Started in 2017 and backed by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, World Afro Day encourages education, love and positive progress around embracing afro hair.
World Afro Day aims to fight hair discrimination, and in that vein we have small steps of progress happening around the country:
- Colorado’s CROWN Act went into effect Monday
- Black celebrities are speaking out about their personal experiences of hair discrimination
- Birmingham, Alabama will now celebrate July 3 as National CROWN Day.
Yes, 2020 has brought more attention to the epidemic of racial discrimination in the U.S., but that spotlight has been costly. Too many Black lives have been lost to needless violence and bigotry. Too many Black children and families carry their skin color and natural hair as a weight rather than the badge of beauty that it is. Don’t get me wrong - we LOVE ourselves, our families and our Blackness. But, when a country and culture force you into a box based on how you look, that weighs heavily on families for generations.
I made the transition to wearing my natural hair before PuffCuff was born, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Embracing my natural hair - publicly - has given me the courage and platform to create a business for my family and a safe haven for those with kinky, curly or textured hair. I want that for everyone; my prayer in honor of World Afro Day is that you love yourself a little stronger this week!