JASMINE JACOBS FOUGHT THE MILITARY BAN THAT TOOK AIM AT NATURAL AFRO HAIR -- AND WON

Feeling Rebloggy

That makes Jasmine Jacobs more than one kind of hero. She serves in the military. And now she has served the black community too.


FROM NOW THIS





INTERVIEW FROM NAPTURAL85

What steps did you take to get the establishment to pay attention to this issue?  

The first thing I did was start the petition on whitehouse.gov. I then reached out to every person with natural hair I could think of on social media, asking them to share the petition or make a statement. From there I sent out press releases to media outlets about the issue. 

The first outlet to pick up my story was Roland Martin. From that interview, it just took on a life of its own from NBC, to John Stewart and the New York Times. I think what helped get the story shared was that it was truly absurd. 

Natural hair was nothing new, so to take a step back during what should’ve been a progressive time really blew people’s minds. The language used in the regulations was incendiary as well, using trigger words like ‘unkempt, matted…’ it was a slap in the face. Once members of Congress got word, things really started happening on a legal level as well....

What was your greatest triumph? Any events in particular that stood out? 

The women of the Congressional Black Caucus wrote a letter to the former Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, calling the regulations offensive and biased, and calling for their overturn. It brought me to tears that these strong, powerful, amazing women of color, took time out of their day to get behind my cause. That was “the moment” for me.

Of course, the best part was when the regulations were, in fact, overturned haha… but having all that black girl magic on my side literally made me sob.

Oh, and being on The Daily Show is right up there too; Jessica Williams is the best.

If you had to do it again, what would you have done differently, if anything? 

I think I would’ve been a little bolder...I wanted change, but I didn’t want to offend anyone too much in the process. I remember how I would purposely veer away from words such as ‘prejudiced’ and ‘ignorant’ because I didn’t want to detract from the mission by giving ammo for an “angry black woman” rhetoric. 

If I did it again though, I probably would’ve just tossed the boat from the beginning and said, “Hey, this is racially biased. It isn’t right, and we need to fix it.”

BLACK FEMINISTS ROCK THIS WORLD WITH BLACK GIRL MAGIC

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