For the primary time in her 10 years on tv and in celebration of Juneteenth, North Carolina information reporter Akilah Davis wore her pure hair on air on Monday. Starting her “Pure Hair Freedom” phase on ABC 11-affiliate station WTVD sporting a pin-straight wig, Davis reported her pure hair journey, sharing a private assertion, footage, and interviews together with her mother and father, Terry and Debra Davis. She ended the particular phase with a triumphant reveal, sporting her shoulder-length locs.
“Rising up, my hair texture was misunderstood. My tight curls had been tough for mother to handle,” Davis mentioned within the video, per Folks journal. “Unknowingly, I internalized this concept that straight hair was ‘good hair’ and Afro hair like mine was not.”
Davis’ notion of her hair led her to put on wigs and weaves all through her broadcasting profession. Nonetheless, because the world shifted in 2020, so did her mindset. Following the homicide of George Floyd, Davis famous a “quiet motion amongst Black girls” rooted in reclaiming their Blackness. Acknowledged as a type of self-expression and freedom from poisonous societal norms, Black girls more and more started loc’ing their hair. Davis was impressed to observe go well with.
Three years later, on Juneteenth 2023, a day commemorating the liberating of Black enslaved individuals in america, Davis felt moved to completely set her locs free.
“This has been years within the making for me. There’s a psychological swap that occurs earlier than somebody comes to a decision like this, introducing you to their mother and father and sharing their private tales. And the swap has been taking place for the final couple of years,” Davis informed Folks. “Why not embrace who I’m? It’s me.”
“There’s an emotional exhaustion in waking up and braiding your hair down and placing a wig on prime of it to seem presentable for different individuals day by day,” she added. “And I obtained uninterested in it. I began my locs with the intention of this present day coming.”
Since her “hair liberation,” Davis has no plans of hiding her hair once more. The race and tradition reporter shared that transferring ahead, her viewers will probably be seeing her locs on the air. Primarily based on the overwhelmingly constructive response, it appears viewers received’t thoughts; particularly Black girls.
“They watch me on TV, and I used to be as soon as them,” Davis informed Folks. “So if I might attraction to a bit of Brown woman that has braids or locs and let her know that her hair is gorgeous too, it’s skilled too, and society is making area for her, then my job is finished.”
“I’m hoping to encourage girls and little ladies struggling to embrace their roots,” Davis mentioned within the phase. “I see you, sis, and I’m with you.”
Following her large reveal, Davis stories feeling a way of fearlessness and freedom.
“There may be energy that comes with being your true self,” she mentioned. “I really feel like I can tackle something.”
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