black woman in the bahamas asked to leave her job for wearing her hair natural

A Bahamanian woman says she was asked to leave her job because she refused to perm it or wear a wig. On Monday, Rolanda Davis posted a photo of her short afro on Facebook along with a statement explaining the incident. “I am equally shocked, dismayed and appalled that my hair, God given, in its natural state, being a representation of my Afro-Caribbean heritage was seen as unprofessional or unsatisfactory for my line of work, that being sales and customer service,” she wrote in a post that has been shared over 2,5000 times as of this writing.

It’s unclear where exactly Davis works, but her profile indicates it is somewhere in Nassau, New Providence.

As Davis highlights, Eurocentric and white supremacist beauty standards are pervasive, and have permeated even those places in the world where there are few white people. Skin bleaching is not uncommon, and the ultimate message is clear: Blackness in its natural form is not beautiful, and you should try your hardest to be like white people at all times.

“I wish that our system, and institutions did not feed into the notion that my black isn’t beautiful,” Davis implored, “but to promote loving the skin you are in, seeing the beauty in the kink of your hair and the strength of the melanin in your skin.”

We do too, Rolanda.