Black Women Whose Hair Cost Them Their Jobs
(newpittsburghcourieronline.com)
Melphine Evans
Melphine Evans, a former executive at BP (British Petroleum Oil Co.), actually sued her company for allegedly firing her because of her braided hair and “ethnic” attire. It wasn’t like Evans was new to the company, she had built a 10-year career at the oil firm. Here’s what her last company evaluation just before being fired said:
“‘You intimidate and make your colleagues uncomfortable by wearing ethnic clothing and ethnic hairstyles (Dashikis, twists, braids/cornrows). If you insist on wearing ethnic clothing/hairstyles-you should only do so during ‘culture day,’ Black history month or special diversity events/days. If you are going to wear ethnic clothing, you should alert people in advance that you will be wearing something ethnic …”
