mikemcguff.com: Houston TV reporters wearing braids on air

Houston TV reporters are wearing braids on air with one journalist explaining why she was at first worried about making the hair style change

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A lot of you have reached out with kind words about my decision to wear my braids to work and on air. Thank you❤️ What’s SAD, is that we are still living in a time where it’s “shocking” to see a black woman embrace her CULTURE in the workplace. Hair styles that we wore for so long growing up in order to protect our natural hair- Natural hair that May not be as FINE and PRISTINE as many in the professional world would prefer. I feared it for so long and really up until 2 weeks ago I questioned whether or not I should do this. What I found that’s AMAZING, is that we are progressing into a time where companies like mine, are accepting the fact that there is not only ONE standard of beauty. Our hair and our styles deeply rooted in our culture, are not DISTRACTING, they are not UNPROFESSIONAL, they are not TOO BLACK. It’s 2019. Let’s keep beating down the doors ladies. We are still fighting this battle and I know many are still stuck in the same place I was 2 weeks ago. Wondering if I would still be accepted with an “ethnic” hairstyle and if it was “professional looking enough”. OUR black hair is beautiful even if it’s not in line with a “narrow” application of grooming policies in some workplaces. EMBRACE YOU! Share your thoughts with me on this topic! • • • • #blackgirlmagic#boxbraids#newsgirl#culture#ethnic#testimony#blackgirl#blackhair#proudafrican#proudnigerian#naijaqueen#proudhaitian#haitianproud
A post shared by Stefania Okolie (@stefaniaonabc13) on Jul 4, 2019 at 5:46pm PDT

Earlier this month while I was on vacation, abc13 KTRK reporter Stefania Okolie posted on Instagram how she decided to wear her hair in braids on air, but initially was worried about the decision:

A lot of you have reached out with kind words about my decision to wear my braids to work and on air. Thank you❤️ What’s SAD, is that we are still living in a time where it’s “shocking” to see a black woman embrace her CULTURE in the workplace. Hair styles that we wore for so long growing up in order to protect our natural hair- Natural hair that May not be as FINE and PRISTINE as many in the professional world would prefer. I feared it for so long and really up until 2 weeks ago I questioned whether or not I should do this.
What I found that’s AMAZING, is that we are progressing into a time where companies like mine, are accepting the fact that there is not only ONE standard of beauty. Our hair and our styles deeply rooted in our culture, are not DISTRACTING, they are not UNPROFESSIONAL, they are not TOO BLACK. It’s 2019. Let’s keep beating down the doors ladies. We are still fighting this battle and I know many are still stuck in the same place I was 2 weeks ago. Wondering if I would still be accepted with an “ethnic” hairstyle and if it was “professional looking enough”. OUR black hair is beautiful even if it’s not in line with a “narrow” application of grooming policies in some workplaces. EMBRACE YOU!

This week, KHOU 11 reporter Janel Forte posted on Instagram how she was thinking about wearing braids, but checked with news director Sally Ramirez first:

me: calls boss - “hey Sally, can I get braids?”
boss lady: yea, sure.
me: I can send you a picture of what I want first if you like.
boss lady: I know what braids look like Janel, I’m sure they’ll look great.
shout out to great bosses. I feel like I look like a baby with braids - so they won’t be here for long. But I’m grateful for the support to at least try them out.

UPDATE 2021
Janel Forte joins NewsNation

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me: calls boss - “hey Sally, can I get braids?” boss lady: yea, sure. me: I can send you a picture of what I want first if you like. boss lady: I know what braids look like Janel, I’m sure they’ll look great. shout out to great bosses. I feel like I look like a baby with braids - so they won’t be here for long. But I’m grateful for the support to at least try them out ❤️ #braids #knotlessbraids #natural #reporter #womenontv #womenonnair #amnewser #khou11 #khou #houston #texas #tvnews
A post shared by Janel Forte (@jforteontv) on Jul 15, 2019 at 8:07am PDT