1
00:00:00,801 --> 00:00:03,616
I am from the South Side of Chicago,

2
00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,736
and in seventh grade,
I had a best friend named Jenny

3
00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,560
who lived on the Southwest
Side of Chicago.

4
00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:13,336
Jenny was white,

5
00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:17,336
and if you know anything about
the segregated demographics of Chicago,

6
00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,496
you know that there are
not too many black people

7
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,576
who live on the Southwest Side of Chicago.

8
00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:23,856
But Jenny was my girl

9
00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:28,776
and so we would hang out every so often
after school and on the weekends.

10
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,095
And so one day we were
hanging out in her living room,

11
00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:35,376
talking about 13-year-old things,

12
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,616
and Jenny's little sister Rosie
was in the room with us,

13
00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,696
and she was sitting behind me
just kind of playing in my hair,

14
00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,800
and I wasn't thinking too much
about what she was doing.

15
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,616
But at a pause in the conversation,

16
00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,136
Rosie tapped me on the shoulder.

17
00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:53,520
She said, "Can I ask you a question?"

18
00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:55,880
I said, "Yeah, Rosie. Sure."

19
00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:58,216
"Are you black?"

20
00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,456
(Laughter)

21
00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:02,376
The room froze.

22
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:03,600
Silence.

23
00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:07,136
Jenny and Rosie's mom
was not too far away.

24
00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,056
She was in the kitchen
and she overheard the conversation,

25
00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:11,600
and she was mortified.

26
00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:15,880
She said, "Rosie! You can't
ask people questions like that."

27
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,216
And Jenny was my friend,
and I know she was really embarrassed.

28
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,576
I felt kind of bad for her,
but actually I was not offended.

29
00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:29,656
I figured it wasn't Rosie's fault
that in her 10 short years on this earth,

30
00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,136
living on the Southwest Side of Chicago,

31
00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,040
she wasn't 100 percent sure
what a black person looked like.

32
00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:36,856
That's fair.

33
00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,256
But what was more surprising to me was,

34
00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:43,776
in all of this time I had spent
with Jenny and Rosie's family --

35
00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:45,136
hanging out with them,

36
00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:46,416
playing with them,

37
00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,216
even physically interacting with them --

38
00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,736
it was not until Rosie
put her hands in my hair

39
00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,280
that she thought to ask me if I was black.

40
00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,256
That was the first time I would realize

41
00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:05,216
how big of a role the texture of my hair
played in confirming my ethnicity,

42
00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,840
but also that it would play a key role
in how I'm viewed by others in society.

43
00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,616
Garrett A. Morgan
and Madame CJ Walker were pioneers

44
00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:18,160
of the black hair-care and beauty
industry in the early 1900s.

45
00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,456
They're best known as the inventors
of chemically-based hair creams

46
00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:24,016
and heat straightening tools

47
00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,616
designed to permanently,
or semipermanently,

48
00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,280
alter the texture of black hair.

49
00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,136
Oftentimes when we think
about the history of blacks in America,

50
00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,056
we think about the heinous acts

51
00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,576
and numerous injustices
that we experienced as people of color

52
00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:44,336
because of the color of our skin,

53
00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:48,016
when in fact, in post-Civil War America,

54
00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:53,216
it was the hair of an
African-American male or female

55
00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:58,096
that was known as the most
"telling feature" of Negro status,

56
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,040
more so than the color of the skin.

57
00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,456
And so before they were staples

58
00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,416
of the multibillion-dollar
hair-care industry,

59
00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,216
our dependency on tools and products,

60
00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,536
like the hair relaxer
and the pressing comb,

61
00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,976
were more about our survival
and advancement as a race

62
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,200
in postslavery America.

63
00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,256
Over the years,
we grew accustomed to this idea

64
00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:30,400
that straighter and longer
hair meant better and more beautiful.

65
00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,936
We became culturally obsessed

66
00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,160
with this idea of having
what we like to call ...

67
00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:40,040
"good hair."

68
00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:43,256
This essentially means:

69
00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,840
the looser the curl pattern,
the better the hair.

70
00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:54,176
And we let these institutionalized ideas
form a false sense of hierarchy

71
00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:59,776
that would determine
what was considered a good grade of hair

72
00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:01,160
and what was not.

73
00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,616
What's worse is that
we let these false ideologies

74
00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,376
invade our perception of ourselves,

75
00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,736
and they still continue
to infect our cultural identity

76
00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,200
as African-American women today.

77
00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:18,216
So what did we do?

78
00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:22,256
We went to the hair salon
every six to eight weeks,

79
00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:23,656
without fail,

80
00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:27,016
to subject our scalps
to harsh straightening chemicals

81
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:28,976
beginning at a very young age --

82
00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,056
sometimes eight, 10 --

83
00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,296
that would result in hair loss,

84
00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:35,536
bald spots,

85
00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,760
sometimes even burns on the scalp.

86
00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:43,216
We fry our hair at temperatures
of 450 degrees Fahrenheit or higher

87
00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:44,496
almost daily,

88
00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,520
to maintain the straight look.

89
00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:52,336
Or we simply cover our hair up
with wigs and weaves,

90
00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,016
only to let our roots breathe in private

91
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,160
where no one knows
what's really going on under there.

92
00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,816
We adopted these practices
in our own communities,

93
00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:08,176
and so it's no wonder
why today the typical ideal vision

94
00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,936
of a professional black woman,

95
00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:12,856
especially in corporate America,

96
00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,200
tends to look like this,

97
00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:17,880
rather than like this.

98
00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,160
And she certainly doesn't look like this.

99
00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:25,296
In September of this year,

100
00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,816
a federal court ruled it lawful

101
00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:32,176
for a company to discriminate
against hiring an employee

102
00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,280
based on if she or he wears dreadlocks.

103
00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:37,776
In the case,

104
00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,056
the hiring manager in Mobile, Alabama

105
00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:41,800
is on record as saying,

106
00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:44,800
"I'm not saying yours are messy,

107
00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:46,976
but ...

108
00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:48,572
you know what I'm talking about."

109
00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:52,680
Well, what was she talking about?

110
00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:55,480
Did she think that they were ugly?

111
00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:01,376
Or maybe they were
just a little too Afrocentric

112
00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,680
and pro-black-looking for her taste.

113
00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,416
Or maybe it's not about Afrocentricity,

114
00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:08,976
and it's more just about
it being a little too "urban"

115
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,400
for the professional setting.

116
00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,536
Perhaps she had a genuine concern
in that they looked "scary"

117
00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:19,080
and that they would intimidate
the clients and their customer base.

118
00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:25,776
All of these words are ones
that are too often associated

119
00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,240
with the stigma
attached to natural hairstyles.

120
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,200
And this ...

121
00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:33,680
this has got to change.

122
00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:36,536
In 2013,

123
00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:41,056
a white paper published by the Deloitte
Leadership Center for Inclusion,

124
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,496
studied 3,000 individuals
in executive leadership roles

125
00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,136
on the concept
of covering in the workplace

126
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,240
based on appearance,
advocacy, affiliation and association.

127
00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,376
When thinking about
appearance-based covering,

128
00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:56,656
the study showed

129
00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:02,736
that 67 percent of women
of color cover in the workplace

130
00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:04,040
based on their appearance.

131
00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,816
Of the total respondents who
admitted to appearance-based covering,

132
00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:14,096
82 percent said that it was
somewhat to extremely important

133
00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,120
for them to do so
for their professional advancement.

134
00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,040
Now, this is Ursula Burns.

135
00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:26,656
She is the first African-American
female CEO of a Fortune 500 company --

136
00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:27,880
of Xerox.

137
00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:30,416
She's known by her signature look,

138
00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:32,136
the one that you see here.

139
00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:36,440
A short, nicely trimmed,
well-manicured Afro.

140
00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,440
Ms. Burns is what
we like to call a "natural girl."

141
00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,616
And she is paving the way
and showing what's possible

142
00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,376
for African-American women
seeking to climb the corporate ladder,

143
00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,240
but still wishing
to wear natural hairstyles.

144
00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,976
But today the majority
of African-American women

145
00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,696
who we still look to as leaders,
icons and role models,

146
00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,016
still opt for a straight-hair look.

147
00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:05,256
Now,

148
00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:06,976
maybe it's because they want to --

149
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,296
this is authentically
how they feel best --

150
00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:11,816
but maybe --

151
00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:13,456
and I bet --

152
00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,736
a part of them felt like they had to

153
00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:21,240
in order to reach the level of success
that they have attained today.

154
00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:27,536
There is a natural hair movement
that is sweeping the country

155
00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:29,840
and also in some places in Europe.

156
00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,856
Millions of women are exploring what
it means to transition to natural hair,

157
00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,895
and they're cutting off
years and years of dry, damaged ends

158
00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:42,111
in order to restore
their natural curl pattern.

159
00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:47,256
I know because I have been an advocate
and an ambassador for this movement

160
00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,080
for roughly the last three years.

161
00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:55,376
After 27 years of excessive heat
and harsh chemicals,

162
00:08:55,400 --> 00:09:00,880
my hair was beginning to show
extreme signs of wear and tear.

163
00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:03,016
It was breaking off,

164
00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:04,416
it was thinning,

165
00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,496
looking just extremely dry and brittle.

166
00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,896
All those years of chasing
that conventional image of beauty

167
00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:12,136
that we saw earlier

168
00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:14,120
was finally beginning to take its toll.

169
00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,016
I wanted to do something about it,

170
00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:22,536
and so I started what I called
the "No Heat Challenge,"

171
00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:26,416
where I would refrain
from using heat styling tools on my hair

172
00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:27,720
for six months.

173
00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,776
And like a good millennial,

174
00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,016
I documented it on social media.

175
00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:35,296
(Laughter)

176
00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,376
I documented as I reluctantly cut off

177
00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,160
three to four inches of my beloved hair.

178
00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:49,576
I documented as I struggled
to master these natural hairstyles,

179
00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,616
and also as I struggled to embrace them

180
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,880
and think that they actually looked good.

181
00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:03,240
And I documented as my hair texture
slowly began to change.

182
00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,896
By sharing this journey openly,

183
00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,696
I learned that I was not
the only woman going through this

184
00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,496
and that in fact there were thousands
and thousands of other women

185
00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:16,240
who were longing to do the same.

186
00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,296
So they would reach out to me
and they would say,

187
00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,576
"Cheyenne, how did you do
that natural hairstyle

188
00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:23,536
that I saw you with the other day?

189
00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:25,576
What new products have you started using

190
00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:27,936
that might be a little better
for my hair texture

191
00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:29,400
as it begins to change?"

192
00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:33,776
Or, "What are some
of the natural hair routines

193
00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:37,920
that I should begin to adopt
to slowly restore the health of my hair?"

194
00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,856
But I also found that there were
a large number of women

195
00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:46,680
who were extremely hesitant
to take that first step

196
00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,240
because they were paralyzed by fear.

197
00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,136
Fear of the unknown --

198
00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:54,760
what would they now look like?

199
00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,776
How would they feel about themselves
with these natural hairstyles?

200
00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,216
And most importantly to them,

201
00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,240
how would others view them?

202
00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:07,216
Over the last three years

203
00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,136
of having numerous conversations
with friends of mine

204
00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:15,096
and also complete strangers
from around the world,

205
00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,816
I learned some really important things

206
00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:21,560
about how African-American women
identify with their hair.

207
00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:24,776
And so when I think back

208
00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:28,336
to that hiring manager in Mobile, Alabama,

209
00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,096
I'd say, "Actually, no.

210
00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,576
We don't know what you're talking about."

211
00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:35,560
But here are some things that we do know.

212
00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:41,696
We know that when black women
embrace their love for their natural hair,

213
00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:45,176
it helps to undo generations of teaching

214
00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,496
that black in its natural state
is not beautiful,

215
00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,440
or something to be hidden or covered up.

216
00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,736
We know that black women
express their individuality

217
00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,856
and experience feelings of empowerment

218
00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,920
by experimenting with different
hairstyles regularly.

219
00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:06,496
And we also know

220
00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,416
that when we're invited
to wear our natural hair in the workplace,

221
00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,816
it reinforces that we are uniquely valued

222
00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,600
and thus helps us to flourish
and advance professionally.

223
00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:21,720
I leave you with this.

224
00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,520
In a time of racial and social tension,

225
00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:28,376
embracing this movement

226
00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:30,176
and others like this

227
00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,720
help us to rise above
the confines of the status quo.

228
00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:40,776
So when you see a woman with braids
or locks draping down her back,

229
00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:43,336
or you notice your colleague

230
00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,440
who has stopped
straightening her hair to work,

231
00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,936
do not simply approach her and admire

232
00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,776
and ask her if you can touch it --

233
00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:55,056
(Laughter)

234
00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:56,920
Really appreciate her.

235
00:12:57,920 --> 00:12:59,136
Applaud her.

236
00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,880
Heck, even high-five her
if that's what you feel so inclined to do.

237
00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:05,096
Because this --

238
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,880
this is more than about a hairstyle.

239
00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,800
It's about self-love and self-worth.

240
00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:14,816
It's about being brave enough

241
00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:18,880
not to fold under the pressure
of other's expectations.

242
00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:24,376
And about knowing that making
the decision to stray from the norm

243
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,856
does not define who we are,

244
00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:29,200
but it simply reveals who we are.

245
00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:31,776
And finally,

246
00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:33,656
being brave is easier

247
00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,120
when we can count
on the compassion of others.

248
00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:38,536
So after today,

249
00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:41,880
I certainly hope that we can count on you.

250
00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:43,576
Thank you.

251
00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,652
(Applause)