Ban on natural hair!!!!!!!

[VinDieselsWifey]

Hey

I don't know how many people visit np.com, but they have a petition going on over there for a great cause. To sum it up:
"The Baltimore Police Dept and City Council has effectively banned the wearing of natural hair. This new policy effective January 1st will require women with locs to cut their hair off and those with natural styles straighten their hair in order to "conform." To view more about this policy and voice your outrage, please visit NAPPTURALITY'S STANCE AGAINST RACISM"

Even though i'm no longer natural, i am very offended and outraged by this "policy". i am so tired of hearing about things like this. we should be able to wear our hair any way we want, natural or relaxed, and not feel bad about it. our hair is not "inferior" to a person of European or Asian descent. i have already signed my name to the petition and was hoping you wonderful ladies would do the same.

thanks!

 

[Proudpiscean]

This is ridiculous!! It is almost 2007 and they are still on that superiority/inferiority bull crap! **off to NP to sign the petition!**

 

[jaiku]

Hmm? I hope this is false. I'm in Baltimore And I haven't heard anything about this. Let me go check some of my sources.

 

[RabiaElaine]

Ridiculous. I would really like to understand how they think they are going to be able to get away with this?! I hope the NAACP gets involved.

 

[Angelicus]

Let's find out if this is true or not first, then we'll get mad.

 

[LynnieB]

the forum's owner would not advertise fraudulent information.

my name over there is gr2006.

i signed a couple days ago.

 

[Proudpiscean]

I have no doubt that it is true, racism & discrimination is as rampant as ever.

 

[Wildchild453]

That's not exactly how it is:

POLICY
The following guidelines establish the Baltimore Police Department's Professional Appearance Standards and shall be applied equally to both male and female members unless otherwise specified. These regulations apply to all personnel working in a uniformed capacity (to include uniformed overtime and uniformed secondary employment), and all sworn personnel in Court Attire (as defined in General Order O-4, "Uniforms and Equipment"). No exceptions to these standards shall be made without authorization from the Police Commissioner.


G.O. C-12 PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE STANDARDS

Page 3 of I

Medical Director/Medical Review Officer, Public Safety Infirmary
• Confer with the Chief, Legal Affairs Section, when solicited, regarding member requests
for accommodations or exemptions from the Professional Appearance Standards.
Commanding Officer, Inspections Section
• Conduct periodic inspections of Department personnel to ensure compliance with the
Professional Appearance Standards, consistent with procedures outlined in General
Order D-3, "Inspections."
GUIDELINES
UNIVERSAL HAIRSTYLE REQUIREMENTS• Hair must be neatly groomed and conform to the shape of the head.
• Only natural hair colors are permitted. Hair colors that would be regarded as extreme,
faddish or artificial, such as purple, pink or green, are PROHIBITED.
• The bulk of the hair will not be excessive or present a ragged or unkempt appearance,
and shall not:
o Prevent the eight-point hat from being placed squarely on the head, with the
center of the hat's visor directly over the nose. o Interfere with the proper wearing of the arctic hat. o Interfere with the safe and proper wearing of issued departmental helmets and
other safety gear, to include personal protection equipment.
• Extreme or fad hairstyles are PROHIBITED, including but not limited to: cornrows,
mohawks, dreadlocks, and twists, as well as designs or sculptures using the hair and/or
cut into the hair.
• A wig, track or hairpiece shall present a natural appearance and conform to the same
standards as natural hair.
EXCEPTION: Members permanently assigned to plainclothes/undercover assignments and required to report in Court Attire may have the hairstyle and/or shaving requirements waived by their Commanding Officer. This exception is NOT applicable to members wearing the departmental uniform in any capacity.
Male Member
• Hair will have a tapered appearance, and the length will not extend beyond the top of
the eyebrows or ears and the top of the uniform shirt collar, nor below the front
headband of properly worn headgear. The gathering of hair in a tie, clip, ponytail or
braid is PROHIBITED.
•

Female Member
• Hair will be styled such that the length does not extend beyond the top of the eyebrows
or ears, below the lower edge of the uniform shirt collar, nor below the front headband
of properly worn headgear. Objects worn in the hair, including but not limited to pins,
barrettes, bands and clips:
v
o Shall be inconspicuously placed for the sole purpose of holding the hair in place. o Must be unadorned, and transparent or similar to the color of the hair. o Shall not interfere with the proper wearing of issued headgear.


5. Appearance and Grooming Standards
Appearance standards generally must be neutral, adopted for nondiscriminatory reasons, consistently applied to persons of all racial and ethnic groups, and, if the standard has a disparate impact, it must be job-related and consistent with business necessity.£15i) The following are examples of areas in which appearance standards may implicate Title VII's prohibition against race discrimination:
with the employer's dress code requirements.

Hair: Employers can impose neutral hairstyle rules - e.g., that hair be neat, clean,
and well-groomed - as long as the rules respect racial differences in hair textures
and are applied evenhandedly. For example, Title VII prohibits employers from
preventing African American women from wearing their hair in a natural, unpermed
"afro" style that complies with the neutral hairstyle rule. Title VII also prohibits
employers from applying neutral hairstyle rules more restrictively to hairstyles
worn by African Americans.^^1• Afro textured hair -

 

[Amylee]

I can't believe it !!! I'm signing this petition right now!!!
And I'll tell my french napptural board so that they can sign too.

ETA: It's sad that I cannot sign this. Only US residents can...

 

[Ms Lala]

I"m glad you posted those rules. I figured it was false because I live in the Bmore area and haven't heard anything about it. Natural hair is a big deal out here, especially in DC and MD. People would have been having fits at the police station. Plus legally they can't do that and court cases have already been won at other institutions who tried this.

 

[sistagrl2004]

I don't think that the real policy is nearly as restrictive as it was made to seem, however I have a problem with males not being able to wear twists, locs etc. I understand not allowing the males to have long hair as that is true for everyone, but why not twists/baby locs texured fros' like DL Hugley??

 

[LynnieB]

Female Member
• Hair will be styled such that the length does not extend beyond the top of the eyebrows
or ears, below the lower edge of the uniform shirt collar, nor below the front headband
of properly worn headgear. Objects worn in the hair, including but not limited to pins,
barrettes, bands and clips:

^^ i would be in violation according to this one rule alone as there would be NO way my hair would 1) fit under a uniform hat or 2) not extend over my shirt collar regardless of how tightly braided my hair was.

unless it was something i planned on doing anyway, i would never cut my hair due to employment purposes.

 

[PaperClip]

Between this point:

• Extreme or fad hairstyles are PROHIBITED, including but not limited to: cornrows, mohawks, dreadlocks, and twists, as well as designs or sculptures using the hair and/or cut into the hair.

and this point:

Hair: Employers can impose neutral hairstyle rules - e.g., that hair be neat, clean, and well-groomed - as long as the rules respect racial differences in hair textures and are applied evenhandedly. For example, Title VII prohibits employers from preventing African American women from wearing their hair in a natural, unpermed "afro" style that complies with the neutral hairstyle rule. Title VII also prohibits employers from applying neutral hairstyle rules more restrictively to hairstyles worn by African Americans.^^1• Afro textured hair -

It seems like Title VII cancels this mandate out. One should take issue with the notion of dreadlocs being considered extreme or simply a fad.

I'm also estimating that although this came down from the City Council, the Police Officers Association or Union has enough political power to fight with so that this mandate has no "bite" or that basically, the mandate will not be strongly enforced.

I think the NAACP and other associations (ACLU?) would make some definitive statements about this matter. Hairstyles should not override public safety.

 

[glamazon386]

Hmm? I hope this is false. I'm in Baltimore And I haven't heard anything about this. Let me go check some of my sources.

I'm in Baltimore too. It's true. But I agree, it's not as extreme as people are making it out to be. It's really not different than any other sectors of employment.

 

[VinDieselsWifey]

i see where it says women can wear an afro style, but it still says that locs and twists are extreme and fadish. that's what i don't like. i'm in the air force, and every year they come out with new hair rules that seem to target all of "our" hairstyles. they allow micros, cornrows and twists, but you can't wear a bald head or a low fade or locs. they claim locs will interfere with the proper wear of the gas mask. if they say we can't wear cornrows or twists anymore, i might have to find a new career field.

 

[FeelinIt]

I guess I don't see the problem. Is it because they said you can't wear dreadlocks and twists? I've never seen any officer or military man or woman with these types of hairstyles. Now if they had stated that I need to straighten my hair, then there would be a problem. Is it because it was stated as a fad hairstyle?

 

[dimpalz]

But isn't it basically sayin only the men can't wear locks and twists. That bottom part cancells it out for the women. I wa slookin gback to see if the top part only applied to men cos thats the impression I get.

Nevermind afro styles, you can't have hair passed ur ears, eyebrows or shirt collar!!!! You can wear a bun tho right? - with a black hair bobble, braided and tight, really low so you can get ur hat on...

I don't see the problem. If you're gonna bestow regular people with the right to place themselves above others, who get to live by their own set of rules then they should ATLEAST be doin something different with their hair.

 

[songbyrd517]

It doesn't seem as extreme as suggested. Just neat hair that allows you to function on your job. That is understandable. Though it seems that the mandate is not as extreme as it may appear, I do have a problem with it referring to cornrows, locs, and twists as "extreme" or "fad" hairstyles. They are just as "neat" as other styles, and as long as it is not anything ridiculous, there should be no problem. Those styles derived from traditional styles that have been worn in Africa for centuries. Last I checked, Africa is where the oldest trace of humanity has been affirmed. How is something that's hundreds of thousands years old extreme or a fad That is really ignorant. ... and borderline discriminatory (to put it nicely). They should choose some different wording

 

[firecracker]

If I were a officer I wouldn't be able to put a safety helmut on my big arsed hair unless I wore a low flattened gelled up ponytail. I guess that policy could be taking personal but when I think about all the hair styles natural or otherwise that would risk safety while in the line of duty I cannot get mad.
If someone wants that type of freedom they could possibly work for detectives, vice, narcotics or other specialized unit that doesn't require a uniform or certain armor outside of a pistol.
I would laugh my *** off if I saw a mohawk, joe dirt styled officer walking up to my door trying to help me.

 

[songbyrd517]

I would laugh my *** off if I saw a mohawk, joe dirt styled officer walking up to my door trying to help me.

That was great

 

[PaperClip]

If I were a officer I wouldn't be able to put a safety helmut on my big arsed hair unless I wore a low flattened gelled up ponytail. I guess that policy could be taking personal but when I think about all the hair styles natural or otherwise that would risk safety while in the line of duty I cannot get mad.
If someone wants that type of freedom they could possibly work for detectives, vice, narcotics or other specialized unit that doesn't require a uniform or certain armor outside of a pistol.
I would laugh my *** off if I saw a mohawk, joe dirt styled officer walking up to my door trying to help me.

This is a good point as law enforcement is supposed to reflect peace and order in the community. A mohawk on the traditional beat officer might not help that.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

In ancient rome the 'Caesar cut' originated because in battle the enemy could grab long haired warriors from behind and kill them.

That notion of warfare has been passed down through the years and is the reason why members of the military and police world wide typically have short cropped or buzz cut hair.

With that said, this rule is in place to save somebody's life, not interfere with personal vanity.

 

[Summer_Rain]

In ancient rome the 'Caesar cut' originated because in battle the enemy could grab long haired warriors from behind and kill them.

That notion of warfare has been passed down through the years and is the reason why members of the military and police world wide typically have short cropped or buzz cut hair.

With that said, this rule is in place to save somebody's life, not interfere with personal vanity.

co.sign.

I don't see the issue here, especially since it appears to be applied evenly across the races. You won't see white male cops growing their hair long, or white female cops with waist length pony tails chasing an assaliant(sp). So I hate to say it, but why should the rules be different for us?

 

[glamazon386]

I would laugh my *** off if I saw a mohawk, joe dirt styled officer walking up to my door trying to help me.

*dead*

 

[gentlegiant]

Hmm. I have to say I am not surprised. No offense to the Baltimoreans, but I remember a guy once saying, "If you walk by some of the women in Baltimore too fast, you will get a paper cut." I have never seen some of the ghetto fabulous styles there anywhere else. I think that area alone keeps the manufacturer of the black hair gel in business. My point is I think they are being extreme, but some of the hairstyles in Baltimore are extreme, so they had to draw a line.

 

[deltagyrl]

• Extreme or fad hairstyles are PROHIBITED, including but not limited to: cornrows, mohawks, dreadlocks, and twists, as well as designs or sculptures using the hair and/or cut into the hair.

Uh, did I read this wrong or are they prohibiting locks and twists???

 

[Crackers Phinn]

• Extreme or fad hairstyles are PROHIBITED, including but not limited to: cornrows, mohawks, dreadlocks, and twists, as well as designs or sculptures using the hair and/or cut into the hair.

Uh, did I read this wrong or are they prohibiting locks and twists???

Yes, you read it right. It's helpful when the officer is raiding the drug lords house, if he/she can't be grabbed by their flowing hair and have their throats cut.

 

[crlsweetie912]

Dang, if it wasn't for LHCF, I wouldn't know about this and I live in Baltimore City. They sure are keeping this on the hush here.

 

[EbonyF]

Just so you guys know, there is an updated version which states AFRO's are not allowed either for male or female. And it's sad that there are some people saying they have no problems with these mandates...

Basically they're saying the style I am wearing in my signature I couldn't wear in a police uniform. Sad.

 

[deltagyrl]

Yes, you read it right. It's helpful when the officer is raiding the drug lords house, if he/she can't be grabbed by their flowing hair and have their throats cut.

What if you're a woman with very long hair? Should you cut it? As long as you can pull your hair back neatly there shouldn't be a problem.

DH's closest male friend is a cop and he caught hayle for wearing cornrows. He finally cut his hair b/c they hassled him so much.