http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=special_coverage&id=4286080
Thats the direct link. There are links to sites at the end of the article.
June 19, 2006 - Everybody wants to fit in at work. But, for some, fitting in may mean going against what comes naturally. Some say a growing trend in the African-American community is about more than just style, but also about history --- and heritage.
Some people call the hairstyles "natural," but others view as "extreme." That leaves many African-American professionals wondering if their hairstyle could stunt their career.
Afros, cornrows and dreadlocks are the results of a decision not to chemically straighten hair through a process that can help achieve a more mainstream look, but can also cause severe breakage and damage. R-and-B singer India.Arie suggests finally abandoning hair texture is an indicator of social class:
Good hair means curls and waves
Bad hair means you look like a slave
At the turn of the century
It's time for us redefine who we be
Cynthia Boyd made the transition a few years ago from straightened hair to long locks.
"Somebody said to me once, 'You look so ethnic.' And this was from another person of color," said Dr. Boyd.
As an internal medicine physician and vice president at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital, Dr. Boyd gave careful consideration to the possibility of fallout, but still decided to make the change.
"I was at a point in my career where I felt like I'm in control. I don't have to look or be what the status quo may think I need to look like," said Boyd.
Dr. Boyd cautions that younger people who are new in their professions could encounter racial stereotyping by employers. That theory has become policy at Hampton University, a historically black institution in Virginia.
"We're developing professionals who will go into corporate America for the most part, so we don't want extreme hairstyles or extreme attire," said Dean Sid Creole, Hampton University.
Students in Hampton's MBA program cannot wear cornrows, dreadlocks or long braids.
"I got up, had a decision to make, went and got my hair cut," said Quentin Miles, Hampton graduate student.
The policy has not come without controversy. Essence Magazine's Susan Taylor recently visited Chicago, sporting her trademark long braids. Upon learning of the policy, she refused to speak at the university in protest.
"To doubt yourself is to doubt your creator," said Taylor.
The magazine's editor-in-chief, a Hampton alum, wrote in a recent issue "I worry how this policy will affect the self-image of our young women and men. Our hair, and the myriad ways we choose to wear it, is a statement of pride..."
Rachel Lemons, 23, graduated from a historically black college in 2004 and remembers hearing similar warnings when she cut off her straightened hair and grew an afro.
"I don't think I ever set out to make a statement. I think I'm basically wearing my hair the way it grows out of my head," said Lemons.
She now works as an accountant at a large firm and says she has never felt her hairstyle led to discrimination -- but defends the motivations behind the college rule.
"I think they're always in a position where they want their students to be successful and they don't want their intelligence to be impeded by something as simple as a hairstyle," said Lemons.
Marc White, head of a local executive search firm, says the corporate climate has changed and is more accepting, but there is still reason for concern.
"You will run into people from here to eternity that are just going to hold the line on conservativism, period. And if those are people who are in positions to pull you through the organization, you might want to at least consider appearance," said White.
Still for some, it's worth the risk.
"You have to be comfortable with who you are and what you look like and your perception of what beauty is," said Boyd.
Oddly enough, the headhunter we spoke to says the dot-com boom of the 90's contributed greatly to more companies becoming more open to people with different looks and styles of dress -- provided, of course, that the workers are good performers.