Woman sues salon that told her, “We don’t do African American hair”

The hot topic of discussion on Jezebel today is Brenda McElmore, a California woman who is suing her local J.C. Penney salon for racial discrimination (and being represented by Gloria Allred, to boot). McElmore stopped into the salon because she wanted to have her hair dyed black, but was told by the salon’s receptionist that they “don’t do African American hair.”

Jezebel’s Dodai poses the question, “Should a woman be able to walk into her local salon and expect services, no matter her color, race or hair texture? Or should black people only go to ‘black’ salons, Asian people go to Asian salons, and so on?”

In a perfect world, I would say that you should be able to walk into any salon and not have to worry about whether they cater to your ethnicity. Although various cultures have different characteristics to their hair, it’s not like you have to spend extra years in cosmetology school to learn how to do different types of hair in a very general sense (such as creating an updo or putting in some curls).

But the reality is that not everybody can, or is willing to do, ethnic hair. I’ve had my hair messed up a number of times by salons (white and black) that didn’t know what to do with my curls – even though they may have tried their best to accommodate me.  I had a stylist at one salon tell me that my hair was “too… dark” for her to work with, and so I never ended up giving that salon my business.

My solution over the years has been to find a stylist who is very good at doing my hair (through much trial and error, usually) and remain very loyal to that person for as long as I can. My current stylist is a Jewish man who specializes in black hair, and is phenomenal at doing it (he’s booked up for weeks at a time).

So in my opinion, you don’t have to go to someone of your same race to have your hair done properly. You just need to find a stylist who understands the nuances of working with certain types of hair. And chances are, you’re not going to find that person at the J.C. Penney salon.

What do you think?

• Did J.C. Penney really discriminate against this woman when they told her they couldn’t do her hair? Or did they save her from getting her hair jacked up by a stylist who was honest (albeit in a tactless way) that she doesn’t know what she’s doing
• Should all salons have a basic knowledge of how to do everyone’s hair, or should people stick to salons that represent their race/culture? And what if you live in a town that doesn’t have a salon that caters to your hair (as is the case with my hometown)?

Woman Denied Service At JC Penney Salon For Having Black Hair [Jezebel]

Woman Says JC Penney Denied Service Because She Is Black [KTLA]

JC Penny’s Doesn’t Do “Black Hair” [Womanist Musings]