For the past month, when I came across friends, family and oldacquaintances all of them asked me, "what happen to your hair?"
See, I wore braids for the last three years, but as mygraduation approached last month, I made the decision to cut myebony locks so I could look more professional for the sluggish jobmarket.
Believe me, after watching my hair grow to eight inches, Iwasn't excited about the idea of letting those scissors cut strandafter strand.
I had grown attached to my hair and feared cutting it. But therewas something else out there that placed more anxiety inside me--the uncertainty of my future after graduation.
This past May, the United States unemployment rate climbed to anine-year high of 6.1 percent. As I walked across the stage of ThePyramid, several Americans were walking out the doors ofbusinesses, unemployed.
Businesses cut 17,000 jobs last month, according to the LaborDepartment.
I felt my hair could be a disadvantage for me once I went tointerviews. Maybe the person sitting across the desk from me seesme as the image their company doesn't want to portray.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects allindividuals against employment discrimination on the basis of raceand color as well as national origin, sex or religion.
The act also points out that a person cannot be discriminatedagainst because of unchangeable characteristics associated withrace like skin color, facial features or hair texture.
I know there are laws out there to protect a person who wearsbraids. Braids are a cultural statement for blacks just likewearing confederate flag paraphernalia is for a white southerner.But it would be a hard case to prove that you didn't get a jobbecause of your hair or the Stars and Bars.
I'm sure most people who wear confederate flag merchandise leaveit in the closet when they go out for a job interview.
I couldn't leave my hair behind going job hunting. But for someemployers, my hair would have had the same effect as if I was awhite man wearing a confederate flag shirt.
In this country, we have the freedom of choice, and my choicewas to make this transition to the job world easier by cutting myhair.
There are thousands of equally qualified applicants looking forthe same job I am. If that means I have to live a few years withoutextra hair on my head to even the playing field, I just have to dothat.
My future and financial well being is more important then havingbraids.
Maybe in a few years when I am a columnist at a major newspaperI will be wearing braids again. Until then, I'll just settle forbeing the clean-cut new guy.
