For Black women journalists, wearing #NaturalHairOnAir is a point of pride and resistance - Poynter
Quanecia Fraser felt very nervous one Monday morning in early September. The anchor/reporter for KETV Channel 7 in Omaha, Nebraska, was about to go live on air, with her natural hair.
“I had a feeling like, ‘OK, here goes. I’m about to do it … it’s about to happen,’” Fraser recalled of the moments before the 5 a.m. newscast for the ABC affiliate. “But then I think I also remember telling myself, ‘You know, it’s just like any other day. Your hair just looks different.’”
Fraser, who is Black, had kept her natural hair braided and tucked underneath a wig for work. But she had been mulling a change for some time. She wanted her hair to reach a certain length before she made the switch. But a scalp issue led to concern for her health, and Fraser decided it was time.
She spoke to her boyfriend, who told her she’d look great with her natural hair. She also consulted with her mother in Dallas. She was supportive.
“Other Black women may tell you this, but my mom and I would fight over my hair. It is a constant back-and-forth: The mom wants to do one thing, the daughter wants to do another thing,” Fraser said. “After getting her encouragement, I was like, ‘You know what, I think I’m going to do this.’”
Fraser called her boss and shared what she was considering. She said he was open, so that weekend she got started. She washed her hair and styled it in a twist out, which entailed dividing her hair into multiple sections all over her head, then dividing those sections into two separate pieces that are then wrapped around each other — from root to end. Once her hair dried and set, she unraveled the twists. The resulting look was an even wave or curl all throughout her hair that also adds volume.
Quanecia Fraser felt very nervous one Monday morning in early September. The anchor/reporter for KETV Channel 7 in Omaha, Nebraska, was about to go live on air, with her natural hair.
“I had a feeling like, ‘OK, here goes. I’m about to do it … it’s about to happen,’” Fraser recalled of the moments before the 5 a.m. newscast for the ABC affiliate. “But then I think I also remember telling myself, ‘You know, it’s just like any other day. Your hair just looks different.’”
Fraser, who is Black, had kept her natural hair braided and tucked underneath a wig for work. But she had been mulling a change for some time. She wanted her hair to reach a certain length before she made the switch. But a scalp issue led to concern for her health, and Fraser decided it was time.
She spoke to her boyfriend, who told her she’d look great with her natural hair. She also consulted with her mother in Dallas. She was supportive.
“Other Black women may tell you this, but my mom and I would fight over my hair. It is a constant back-and-forth: The mom wants to do one thing, the daughter wants to do another thing,” Fraser said. “After getting her encouragement, I was like, ‘You know what, I think I’m going to do this.’”
Fraser called her boss and shared what she was considering. She said he was open, so that weekend she got started. She washed her hair and styled it in a twist out, which entailed dividing her hair into multiple sections all over her head, then dividing those sections into two separate pieces that are then wrapped around each other — from root to end. Once her hair dried and set, she unraveled the twists. The resulting look was an even wave or curl all throughout her hair that also adds volume.
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