African children, make sure to double knot that headscarf before you hit the hay, or when you wake up there may not be any hair left to protect. Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles located in the dermis. Hair serves a variety of functions, including protection from UV light exposure, and thermoregulation. In fact, scalp hair is the sole part of the human body that can be readily changed to alter an individual's physical appearance. For black individuals, hair represents our ideas and personalities, serving as a physical manifestation of our individuality. However, African parents have exhibited the tendency to force their children to shave their heads. African sons in particular have been prohibited from partaking in long hairstyles like braids, dreads, afros, etc. because they are associated with the African American stereotypes of "ghetto" and "ungentlemanlike." Schoolgirls in Africa are also forced to shave their hair when school is in session because it is perceived as a "distraction" from their studies. Hair length is an immoral metric used in the African Diaspora to label blacks as uncivil, ghetto, and unprosperous.

One reason why hair length is a useless metric is because modern cultural practices in Africa contradict their ancestors by deeming long hair uncivil. Cultural context is very important when discussing the "morality" of long hair. African men and women across the continent of Africa prior to the 1900s and early 1800s wore braided, loose, locked, and sculpted hair. According to Lori Tharps, an assistant professor of journalism at Temple University, "in pre-colonial African societies, black hair was seen as a symbol of a person's identity." "And during that time, there was a hairstyle for everyone and every occasion: whether you were royalty, a soldier going off to war, or a mother about to give birth." Africans forced onto slave ships were pulled from a variety of societies and cultures. Europeans described them as a generic term, "Africans," which hindered their distinct cultures. Before transporting slaves, captors and traders shaved the heads of all African adults and children taken captive to humiliate them by stripping them of their cultural identity, and to protect them from the unsanitary conditions of slave ships. According to the Gale Journal of Pan African Studies, “there were claims that the colonial authorities would touch the Africans’ hair and say that their hair felt like pubic hair and that such hair was dirty and unprofessional.” As time progressed, shaving one's head became a cultural norm, and Africans assimilated into these practices. Today, mostly in African society, female schoolgirls are required to shave their heads because administrators claim they are more focused on their "beauty" rather than their studies. Due to the conservative nature of Africa, men are generally discouraged from growing out their natural hair because it is seen as rebellious and a solely female trait.

One second reason why hair length is a useless metric is because African immigrants stereotype African Americans as "ghetto." According to FBI crime data, "from 2011 to 2020, the percentage of violent crime victims who were black increased by 3.2% to reach a peak of 32.7% in 2020. By contrast, the percentage of total victims who were white steadily declined from 69.1% to 64.7% over the same period." African immigrants who were raised according to different cultural norms become associated with the stigma of African Americans in America. They equate rebellious activity with common male hairstyles among the African American community, such as dreads, braids, cornrows, and afros. Some Africans fail to realize the spiritual meaning behind the hairstyles rather than making general assumptions and normalizing misconceptions of a minority group. For example, relating back to colonialism, in the 1950’s participants in the Mau-Mau uprising of Kenya wore dreadlocks to protest British rule in the country. Colonists described their hair as "dreadful," coining the term "dreadlocks. Now in modern times, Africans are judging fellow blacks (African Americans) for hairstyles dating back to their own continent.

One last reason why hair length is a useless metric is because it equates long hair with destitution. In the 1980s and 1990s in America, an increased number of black women began to press and perm their hair after witnessing hair-care ads on TV and in magazines that encouraged black women to alter the texture of their hair to fit the beauty standard of straight hair. The coarse, kinky hair of black people was considered unacceptable and unprofessional, especially within the workforce. African American women and men began conforming to the traditional hairstyles of white American women to gain acceptance by using hot combs to straighten out their hair. However, they discovered that their hair would not cooperate with this strenuous method and resorted to hazardous perms and wave creams that are still being used to this day. A study conducted at Duke University in 2020 suggests black women with natural hairstyles were perceived as less professional, less likely to get interviews. “Participants were given profiles of black and white female job candidates and asked to rate them on professionalism, competence, and other factors. Black women with natural hairstyles received lower scores on professionalism and competence and were not recommended as frequently for interviews compared with three other types of candidates: black women with straightened hair and white women with curly or straight hair, the researchers found. " African parent immigrants who worked tediously to immigrate to the U.S. sacrificed so much for their children for them to be able to grow up in stable environments. They refuse to let their hair taint their chances of success.

As a child growing up, I always shaved my hair at the barber shop. I vividly recall scratching my head constantly because of the overwhelming dandruff on my scalp. It was only until middle school that I started using shampoo regularly; I had used a bar of soap to shower my head before then. African parents today in society believe hair care is only necessary for girls because the shaven hair of black boys is low maintenance. As long as you had your basic necessities like your African Sapo (Exfoliating sponge) and your Cocoa Butter you were considered well taken care of. Throughout my journey of discovery, I learned how to shampoo, condition, and moisturize my hair with pomade. And yes, I do acknowledge my mom provided me with all these materials, whenever I requested them. When my mom bought me my first hand brush I decided to hop on the wave trend and brush for hours, laying down my low faded hair to a 180-curl pattern. I received a lot of compliments but what I truly desired was an afro. Shorter hair suited me better when I was younger, but as I matured I realized it didn’t as much, and longer hair was more fitting. By the time I was in high school, I decided to cast my doubts aside and grew a healthy afro that was properly maintained. However, that’s when the negative terms came spouting out. I recall my predominantly female family calling my hair "ugly" because it was "bushy." There is one word that gives black teens trauma, and that’s the word "low." You better tell your barber to cut that hair "low," or you’ll be heading right back to the barbershop to shave every inch of hair off.

One dreadful day in December, my mom told me I was cutting my hair “low, low” whether I liked it or not. She showed me a picture of her friend's son with a shaved head, commenting, "Look at him, he's so handsome." When the day came for me to go to the barbershop, I was reluctant to go, but my mom forced me to go and showed my barber the picture of her friend's son, ordering the barber to give me the same haircut. As I was forced to sit in the chair, I remember tears streaming down my face as the barber shaved my head. He tore a piece of paper towel off his table and handed it to me saying, "here wipe your tears." I sank my face in the tissue in disbelief at what had just occurred. "I said wipe your tears not your whole head", he remarked. "Don’t worry, you’ll be 18 soon." With the recurring discrimination in the workplace because of afro hair, the question is: does it really end at 18? When I went home I covered my hair with my durag in shame. My family pressured me to take it off so they could see what my hair looked like. As my durag slithered off the prickly, and minuscule strands of hair remaining on my head, my mom proceeded to say, "Wow see, you look so handsome". It should’ve even gone lower than that."

Hair length is an immoral metric in the African Diaspora that impedes the self-expression of black youth. Stemming from colonialism, this unethical practice seeps its way through generations like scourging oil running through the scalp, enabling African parents to objectify their children for social approval. Blacks in the African Diaspora need to be more aware of their children’s singularity in hair expression as opposed to supporting societal norms that hinder their children's individuality. Instead of oppressing our own people, we have to explore new avenues of acceptance to dismantle the immoral metric of hair length and better ensure the physical, emotional, and social well-being of the next generation. My hair is not "bushy," my hair is not "ugly." My hair is magnificent.