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By Dr. Patrise Holden | The Washington Informer | Word In Black
(WIB) – National hair health expert Pamela Ferrell, 65, owner ofCornrows & Co., has fought injustice from youth, and as the country’s leader in hair discrimination cases, the entrepreneur, educator and advocate is continuing her freedom fight.
On Oct. 16, her more than four decades of advocacy work resulted in Pennsylvania becoming the 34th state to sign a totalexemptionfor hair braiders from costly conventional cosmetology licensure. Now, she is currently lobbying the D.C. Council and Mayor Muriel Bowser to have the nation’s capital follow suit.
“If you are threatened with jail, hefty fines, business closure, work termination or school suspension in regard to natural hair, what do you do,” Ferrell questioned. For 46 years she has been the voice and the educator of people across the country who find themselves in these exact predicaments.
Raised in Rhode Island, Ferrell moved to Washington, D.C., in 1977 after litigation against the police department for shooting at her.
Determined to succeed despite the traumatic event, she attended college while pursuing her dream of becoming a fashion designer. At 18 years old, while working at G Street Fabric store, her boss indicated that her braided beaded hairstyle did not align with the company’s vision.
“‘If you want to work here you have to remove your hairstyle. It is not appropriate for our clients,’” Ferrell recounted being told by her male supervisor.
She recalled how she felt at that moment.
“I went to the break room and cried. Then I gathered my things and left knowing that I would never return. I called a legal aid type of organization but I didn’t know how to exactly detail what had taken place, nor that it was discrimination,” Ferrell told The Informer.
Birth of a Hair Advocate
Determined to make a change after her termination, in early 1978, Ferrell started her own hair braiding business in her apartment.Even though she was merely eight months out of high school, she quickly gained a large clientele.
As her grandparents had owned a soul food restaurant, entrepreneurship was not new or intimidating to Ferrell.
“I was so angry that I could be fired without cause for a hairstyle until I had to do something that I felt was important. I figured if I braided a lot of heads and put them out there, that would help make change,” she said.
In 1980, she opened her storefront salon with the support of her future husband, Taalib-Din Uqdah, 72, an activist known for starting the first open-air health food market in SE. However, her business faced immense pressure from DCRA (Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs), who demanded that she shut down the salon as she was not licensed in cosmetology.
Uqdah, did not mince words with DCRA, declaring: “we ain’t shutting nothing down, we are braiding hair, cosmetologists dye and straighten hair.”
During the 10-year legal battle that ensued, “Taalib-Din Abdul Uqdah v. District of Columbia,” the couple eventually hired an attorney.
“While ultimately, we did not win, we also did not lose. The judge summarily told DCRA, ‘you need to figure this out,’” Ferrell recounted.
Despite tremendous pressure, the couple never shut down services at their business.
As Ferrell’s hair braiding services grew, attracting clients from all over the country, including celebrities such as Diana Ross, so did the news of her 10-year battle with DCRA. Eventually, local and national news outlets picked up the story.
“We began receiving calls from hair braiders all over the country who were being threatened with closure or were afraid to open up salons so they kept braiding at home,” she explained.
During the same time period, the salon was inundated with calls from women, who like Ferrell, had their employment threatened or terminated for wearing natural hairstyles.
The Fight for National Legislative Change
In 1997, Isis Brantley, braider and hairstylist for Erykah Badu, was handcuffed, strip-searched and jailed in Texas for operating a braiding salon without a license.
This incident, in association with the momentum gained through Ferrell’s work, illuminated the need for national legislation for the rights of braiders.
Ferrell and Uqdah, with the help of attorney Eric Steele, fought the injustice from a two-pronged approach.
Uqdah formedThe American Hairbraider and Natural Haircare Association(AHNHCA), which advocated for women all over the country who had been fired or threatened with termination to come forward. AHNHCA even covered their legal fees.
In addition, through litigation on behalf of the women who came forward, Ferrell enacted policy changes affecting African American hair with organizations such as: Hyatt Hotels, Marriott, Avis, American Airlines, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the United States Army, Navy, and the Pentagon.
Uqdah fought on the legislative side, advocating for changes in law, while Ferrell served as a subject matter expert. In 1997, they played a pivotal role in groundbreaking California legislation,Cornwell v. California Bd. of Barbering and Cosmetology, which found “no rational relationship between the 1600 hours of training required by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology and the practice of African hair styling.”
This legislation stated that braiders in California could not be forced to attend cosmetology schools where braiding was not specifically taught.
In 1993, when former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt signed into law that braiders would have a separate cosmetology license, it was Ferrell who was elected to write the rules for that license. During that same year she was appointed to theDistrict’s Barber and Cosmetology Board.
In 1997, Ferrell and Uqdah spearheaded Maryland’s fight that signed into lawbill SB-501, granting total exemption for braiders from cosmetology licensing requirements. During that same year their work led to Michigan law no longer requiring braiders to obtain a cosmetology license, instead they could voluntarily choose to obtain a cultivation license. The couple was also instrumental in changing licensure requirements in Washington, D.C. (1993), Georgia (1998) and Kansas (2000).
To date, they have successfully enacted legislative changes in 44 states and the District of Columbia.
Empowering Through Natural Hair Care, Education
Janet Davis, 61, Sgt 1stClass Army, Ret. credits Ferrell with teaching her to embrace her natural hair.
“Back in those days we were made to feel as if our hair wasn’t good enough, Pam got me over that mentality,” Davis told The Informer.
Davis said that in 2014, flat twists and other similar natural hairstyles were deemed against Army regulations.
“You could, however, wear a wig. If you step into a chemical environment you would have to take that wig off because when you put on headgear such as a gas mask it has to form a complete seal. Lifesaving headgear such as a gas mask will not seal over another cap. A wig is a cap,” she explained.
The Army sergeant knew just who to call on 10 years ago when she was working to promote change.
“I brought Pam in on the conversation. By then she had already helped change Navy and airline policies surrounding natural hair regulations,” Davis said.
Ferrell wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Army. She was subsequently invited to speak before a 24-man panel at the Pentagon. As opposed to arguing discrimination, Ferrell spoke on hair.
“Racism can be subjective to a person or entity while policy and science, in this case, hair, can often be logically proven,” Ferrell recounted.
She demonstrated to officials at the Pentagon that certain hair textures grow upward and in a tighter circle pattern while Army policy was written based on hair that grows downward. Her testimony effectively brought change in the hair grooming policies of the Army, Army Reserves and Army National Guard.
As the primary subject matter expert in the country in hair discrimination cases, Ferrell’s work has taken her around the world. However, she proudly said her fight for hair freedom started in D.C.
“This movement for natural hair care rights all began in D.C. with a fight against DCRA that would end up becoming national news and subsequently take me all over the world,” she told The Informer.
In her current work, Ferrell treats alopecia in African Americans and continues to lobby for rights of hair braiders and those facing hair discrimination in schools and the workplace.
Under the 14thAmendment individuals have a constitutional right to earn an honest living without unjust interference and regulations.
“Are regulations to force a hair braider to attend a costly cosmetology school based on caucasian hair practices not overburdensome,” reasoned Ferrell. “Over the last 46 years, we have successfully affected legislation in all but six states, making it legal for women of any income level to earn a living through hair braiding.”
The legendary braider, educator and advocatereflected on her decadeslong journey.
“I would have never imagined that hair, education on hair care, and advocacy would provide the opportunity to meet people around the world, change unjust laws and policies and build a legacy of people of all ages who proudly embrace the beauty of natural hair.”
ThispostappearedThe Washington Informer.
