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Back-to-School Fashion and the Meaning Behind It
GettyPS Photography | Jessica AndrewsGettyPS Photography | Jessica Andrews On many a frantic morning in my teenage years, my mother would yell upstairs from the kitchen for me to get dressed faster. “School isn’t a fashion show,” she’d say. Little did she know, the hallowed halls of my high school were indeed a runway — and my getting-ready process simply could not be rushed. Each day had a sartorial theme that I had painstakingly planned for weeks, or even months. One week, I embraced my newfound love for purple and wore a lavender-hued outfit each day. Another time, I discovered Baby Phat and wanted to be among the first to…
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Black Students Are Still Being Punished For Hair Choices
Before Zenda Walker’s daughter started kindergarten, the 10-year-old’s feelings toward her hair were of pride and curiosity. But that quickly changed when she spent the majority of her days around classmates with looser curl patterns, straight hair, and more “manageable” hair. “When she went into the world, the message she was getting was not that her hair was beautiful, but that it was unkempt, messy, and bad.” “I realized it didn’t matter how much I affirmed her at home. When she went into the world, the message she was getting was not that her hair was beautiful, but that it was unkempt, messy, and bad,” the hairstylist and author says.…
