Senator bats for dreadlocks

A DREADLOCKED female senator has expressed a desire for an end to discrimination against persons who embrace their 'Africanness'.

Angela Brown Burke, a first-timer in legislature, made the comment while contributing to a debate on Jamaica Day in the Senate on Friday.

"I, too, long for the day when bleaching is rejected as a stepping stone to social mobility, or acceptance of self. (I long) for the day when natural hairstyles like braids are culturally accepted at the workplace or in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF)," Brown Burke said.

Her comment bears a striking resemblance to statements made by Damion Crawford, the first dreadlocked person to be elected to the House of Representatives.

In the run-up to the December 29, 2011 general election, Crawford, scoffed at calls for him to cut his dreadlocks to gain acceptance from some persons in the society.

"I hear dem going around 'bout cut me locks, let me tell yuh sup'm, it is not about only Rasta. I am the example of the struggle. I am the example for the persons who feel that dem have to bleach to reach.

"I am the example for every single individual that there is oppression and injustice against, and that it has been made harder for them because of how they look or because of what they say or because of where they are from. I am the example of that struggle," Crawford said.

No obstacle

His locks did not prove to be obstacles to Gordon House as he defeated the Jamaica Labour Party's Joan Gordon Webley to win East Rural St Andrew for the People's National Party.

But while Brown Burke and Crawford have defied the Eurocentric grooming rules to the point where they are now legislators, may Jamaicans face discrimination because of the choice they make about growing their hair.

Recently, some women serving in the JCF have claimed that their situation has worsened since Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington announced in the November 2010 Force Orders that the only natural hairdo accepted by the constabulary was fine corn or cane rows.

The order states there should be no weaves, extensions or braids, rope twist, Chinese or Nubian bumps, dreadlocks twists or fat plaits.

The Commissioner, however, granted approval for the European or Asian-looking wigs or straightening with relaxers to cover or change the texture of what many worldwide describe as kinky black women's tresses.

Unacceptable situation

Professor Verene Shepherd, director, Institute for Gender & Development Studies, University of the West Indies, has described the situation as unacceptable.

"I say, allow our black women, wherever they work, to wear braids, Afro hairstyle, sister locks or any other locks they may choose, and disrupt the elitist and colonial mentality that reminds us of a time we would rather forget," Shepherd said.

During her presentation on Friday, Brown Burke said she longs for the day when "there are no questions about including the writings and teachings of Garvey in our schools, and when wearing African attire does not earn you a place on the worst-dressed list."

She added: "When I reflect on 2011, as a year that has just ended, my one real regret is that in the year when we celebrated people of African descent, as a country, we did not have an activity that really marked that year in a significant way."