For centuries, Black women across the country were made to feel uncomfortable about their natural hair and even faced discrimination at the workplace for wearing hair styles like locs, braids and twists.
“Please do not touch my hair!” is my response to anyone who is curious about touching a Black woman's hair. I personally chose to loc my hair approximately 10 years ago, regardless of the ignorant questions and stares. There are still Black women scientists who work at corporations who may not have embraced who they are due to concerns of feeling alienated.
In fact, according to the Dove Crown Research Study, corporate grooming policies unfairly affect Black women, as their natural hair is perceived as unprofessional. Natural hair is the texture of hair that is not relaxed, dyed, permed or chemically altered; but the choice for Black women to wear their natural hair has been difficult, to say the least.
But, current business owner and former forensic scientist Imani Powell is seeking to change that for professional Black women who want to wear their natural hair.
After graduating college with a forensic science degree, Powell relocated and landed what many would consider a dream job. She spent most of her time analyzing sexual assault cases before moving on to another job where she focused on forensic microbiology and sequencing. But, between workplace appearance policies that felt restrictive and uncomfortable conversations regarding social injustice, Powell felt she had to make a change—from forensics to entrepreneur.
Thus, she became her own boss and started Essence of Ebony, where she can be a hair coach, stylist and natural hair educator for women from the African diaspora. And although she may not do hands-on science anymore, Powell is able to leverage her education in how she gathers information about her clients’ hair history—she does her due diligence and researches everything.
Whether you are interested in working in forensics, becoming an entrepreneur or juggling both, the preparation involves plenty of networking, support and ambition.
"If you have a passion outside of forensics, you should definitely consider entrepreneurship. It is even more rewarding than I imagined. I wake up every single day excited to take on the challenge of what I love,” Powell said.
The “Women in Forensics" column is authored by Antoinette T. Campbell, founder of the Association of Women in Forensic Science, Inc. (AWIFS) and Club Philly Forensics—a youth forensic science and violence/education outreach program. Determined to fulfill all her passions, she established AWIFS as a conduit for connecting like-minded individuals and organizations and provide STEM-based programming for youth and young adults. Antoinette has been profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer, WHYY, 105.3 WDAS, 900 AM WURD, and myriad blogs. In 2017, she earned a nomination for the RAD Awards Scientist of the Year and continues to serve as a venerated member of several panels including the Philadelphia Science Festival-Partner Advisory Council and Parents United for Better Schools, Inc. Antoinette can be reached at: www.awifs.org, @womeninforensics, #womeninforensics