DELMARVA. – Hair. It’s the Crown that you can never take off.
It can come in different colors and textures, and for women, like Dr. Dawn Lott, it can mean much more than just a style.
“We also want to express ourselves through our hair, because this is who we are,” Dr. Lott said. “We wake up every single morning with this hair, and somebody can’t tell us how we want to wear that hair.”
Dr. Lott’s locs reach down to her mid-back.
The hairstyle has been a staple in the Black community for centuries,
but her loc journey started back in the early 2000s, when she began her career as a mathematician at Delaware State University and needed a way to protect her hair.
“I knew that there were going to be people who were going to look at me and think, ‘Oh, she doesn’t wash her hair, she just wants to have her hair like that, that’s not professional,’ but I know that for me, this is the story I’m telling for myself, and this is my loc journey,” Dr. Lott said.
According to a 2019 study from Dove, Black women are 1.5x more likely to be sent home from work because of their hairstyles, and 80% more likely to change their natural hair to meet social norms or expectations at work.
“We are the only people whose hair is this texture, and you have to think about the CROWN Act,” Dr. Lott said.
“Why do we need an act that’s going to create an environment that should be respectful for our hair? Nobody else has to have an environment that’s respectful for their hair, their hair is respected,” Dr. Lott added.
While Dr. Lott is the woman under the crown, Monique Keaton is the professional who styles them, empowering Black women with all types of hair textures to wear protective styles themselves.
“This is who we are, this is us, it’s not going anywhere,” Keaton said. “You should look at our hair and like our hair, because most people want what we do.”
Keaton specializes in sew-ins at Rosy’s Hair Braiding, and also owns her own hair company, MK Connections.
“Seeing ladies just throwing on wigs and not taking care of their natural hair, I want to be there,” Keaton said. “I want to be that person who’s going to train your hair and put protective styles in as well.”
Keaton and Dr. Lott don’t know each other, but they share a message:
wear your crown with confidence.
“Carry yourself genuinely and live your truth,” Keaton said. “Carry yourself how your hair is looking, feel good about it, rock your styles.”
“The one thing that you cannot change is your hair texture. You need to embrace it, because it is what defines you; it’s who you are,” Dr. Lott added.
