The year 2020 was the first time that Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley wore her bald head on Capital Hill and we love it! But now in 2022, Pressley's name and hair came up again because of the altercation that happened between Chris Rock and Will Smith at the 94th Annual Oscars.
Midway through presenting the Academy Award for Best Best Documentary, Rock made a jab at the appearance of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith who's been rocking a bald head. Smith marched on stage and smacked the comedian, then returned to his seat yelling: “keep my wife’s name out of your f— mouth.”
Both Pinkett Smith and Pressley have alopecia, a condition resulting in baldness that appeared to be the subject of Rock’s joke.
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Sunday night, Rep. Ayanna Pressley issued a new statement Monday addressing the incident and Rock’s joke.
Pressley initially tweeted: “#Alopecia nation stand up! Thank you #WillSmith Shout out to all the husbands who defend their wives living with alopecia in the face of daily ignorance & insults.”
The post included a picture of Pressley with her husband, Conan Harris. The congresswoman, who represents Massachusetts’ 7th congressional district, deleted the tweet minutes later, according to Politico.
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On Monday, Pressley addressed the joke in a new tweet, writing in part: “My life’s work has always been about trauma [and] healing. I’m a survivor - I don’t endorse violence in any form.”
“Our bodies are not public domain,” she continued. “They are not a line in a joke — especially when the transformation is not of our choosing. I’m a survivor of violence. I’m a proud Alopecian. The psychological toll we carry daily is real. Team Jada always. That’s that on that.”
Black women have always been brave. Whether they were born with it or had events in life where they had to be it, Black women have always shown braveness no matter what it is.
Ayanna Pressley, the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts, used to proudly wear Senegalese twists as she took the oath of office. They were long, rich, and seemed to frame her face perfectly. Her wearing her hair like this was a brave moment, especially during a time when so many Black women were being criticized for their hair in the workplace. So much so that Black hair became a political statement--again. Pressley, along with millions of women around the world continued to show the diversity and breadth of black beauty, setting examples for many young black girls.
States across the country are now finally passing legislation to prevent employers from discriminating against black women who wear natural hairstyles. Black beauty queens around the world are wearing their unprocessed curls on the competition stage.
In a 2020 video in TheRoot.com, Pressley reveals she has alopecia and is now completely bald. It’s a bold act of bravery, especially given that Pressley, like many other black women, has had a complicated relationship to her hair. When Pressley first wore her Senegalese twists, she explains, she felt as if she “met herself fully for the first time, and it felt good.”
She said what started off as just a hairstyle became a political statement. From the letters from little Black girls to tons of support on social media Black hair enthusiasts, Pressley didn't want to let them down.
Over the past several months, Pressley began to lose her hair. On the eve of her vote to impeach President Donald Trump, she says, “the last little bit of my hair came out.”
In the video, Pressley is raw and honest as she shares her emotions processing the loss of her hair. She says she is still coming to terms with it, the way someone might come to terms with losing a limb. “People have been reminding me of the India.Arie song ‘I Am Not My Hair,’ ” Pressley says. “You are not your hair. And that’s true. But I still want it.”
Alopecia areata is a condition that causes hair to fall out in small patches, which can initially be... unnoticeable. These patches may connect, however, and then become noticeable. The condition develops when the immune system attacks the hair follicles, resulting in hair loss.
Sudden hair loss may occur on the scalp, and in some cases the eyebrows, eyelashes, and face, as well as other parts of the body. It can also develop slowly and recur after years between instances.
The condition can result in total hair loss, called alopecia universalis, and it can prevent hair from growing back. When hair does grow back, it’s possible for the hair to fall out again. The extent of hair loss and regrowth varies from person to person.
Towards the end of the video she shares, "I'm ready now. Because I want to be free of the secret and the shame that secret carries with it."
We applaud you Congresswoman Pressley. There is no shame in the truth.
With love, BlackDoctor.org
