FREMONT, Calif. – Black History Month has inspired conversations on Black issues—especially on how to best serve and represent the community. To see the range of ways people respond to Black issues, two individuals detailed the actions they take to support Black people.
“I think the best thing to do is to listen to Black voices,” said Het Chanks, a pale, blue-eyed white man with scraggly, shoulder-length dreadlocks. “I make it my mission to listen to minority voices, and I’ve heard that Candace Owens is a minority voice in the Black community. It’s my job to uplift underrepresented voices that go against the status quo.”
Next to him was his girlfriend Dachel Rolezal, a tan but unambiguously brown-eyed white woman with blonde box braids.
“I wanted to support Black businesses, so I went to a Black braider to get these done,” she expressed. Running her fingers through her braids and ignoring the mass of fallen-out hair, she continues, “As I was getting my hair done, I noticed that everybody in the salon would take brief looks and chuckle at me as my braider progressed. I was talking about how excited I was to see what they looked like when they were done, so I’m sure they were laughing at how much I would like them!”
Chanks and Rolezal were asked how they felt about cultural appropriation and whether their hairstyles fell under that label.
“Cultural appropriation is about the mockery of cultural wear and not understanding where it comes from,” said Chanks. “But I embrace where dreadlocks come from, and the looks I get from Black people are looks of admiration, even though they sometimes look like sneers.”
“I asked Black women if getting box braids was ok, and they told me I should get them as tight as possible to ensure they stay set. Sometimes they fall out,” Rolezal paused briefly before gleefully announcing, “but they told me that I should get relaxer in my hair to strengthen them even more. I’m about to try it tonight!”
As Chanks and Rolezal walked away, they gave passersby information about where they got their hair done, noting that they paid a “reparations tax” in the final cost. Following behind them was a trail of dreadlocks and braids as the wind blew through their hair.