Biglaw

Black Hair, Big Law (Part I): It All Started With Ketanji

Is natural Black hair compatible with working in Big Law? Of course, the answer is yes.

By Angela Mackie-Rutledge  
on
Senate Holds Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings For Ketanji Brown Jackson

Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Angela Mackie-Rutledge back to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.

I’ve always found the superficial side of deep, probing questions oddly compelling. When President Joe Biden announced that he was going to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, my first remark, of course, was, “That’s great but, how will she wear her hair?”

I’ve been not-so-secretly obsessed with hair, specifically Black hair, for as long as I can remember. Just like someone else’s French fries always taste better than your own, it’s the same with obsessing over hair. Other women’s hair-care routines much are much more exciting than my own.

For ages I’ve had a love/hate relationship with my hair, but it’s come full circle and I now absolutely love the way my hair coils. I love my tiny 4A ringlets. That being said, I don’t love the shrinkage. I don’t love the fact that my hair looks five times shorter than it really is. I don’t love the fact that growth seems to take forever grow. So am I “happy to be nappy”? Sometimes.

I do struggle, quite terribly, trying to achieve a polished look. There are some women who do it incredibly well. How I envy the sophisticated Olivia Popes and Ketanji Brown Jacksons of the world. I have never been able to master the effortlessly chic look.

Since having kids, however, my version of effortlessly chic now includes a (nearly) stain-free T-shirt, black yoga pants a size too small as I’m still trying to shift this pandemic weight-gain, flip-flops exposing the fact that my last pedicure was way too long ago, no make-up, reading glasses that only Velma from Scooby-Doo could appreciate, and wearing my hair slicked back in a banana clip showing off a single Afro puff. Yes, that’s me at my pandemic best.

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Accordingly, when Ketanji Brown Jackson was finally nominated to the Supreme Court, while most academics and lawmakers were delving into her judicial and public defender past, I found myself admiring her sisterlocs and wondering how other Black attorneys and judges wore their hair daily?

Though I’m excited about what the future after law school holds, I’m equally trepidatious about starting a new job as an associate at a law firm after three years of WFH-do-nothing-with-my-hair bliss. My apprehension revolves around being utterly unsure about how diverse the law firm will be. Will they be accepting of my natural hair? As someone who is frequently the only Black person in any given situation, the anxiety is real.

Will I be the only Black associate at the firm? Are all the other Black staff part of the cleaning crew and cafeteria? Will they confuse me for the cleaning crew? How much of myself will I have to adapt/change/bury to “look the part” of a superstar in a firm steeped in male, white, corporate traditions? These questions constantly circle through my mind like hamster on a tread wheel.

Thus, when I was asked what sort of event the Black Law Student Association should do, I mentioned a Black hair, Big Law symposium.

Black Hair Big Law Symposium

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On October 27, 2022, the Black Law Students Association at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School successfully held the Black Hair, Big Law Symposium. It encompassed speeches, Black history, the CROWN Act, original research, and writing. The ultimate question of the event was “Is natural Black hair compatible with working in Big Law?”

Of course, the answer is yes. As one of our symposium speakers, Karis Stephens, a 3L from Penn said, “The legal profession which puts adherence to the ‘black letter law’ on a pedestal must make room for Blackness. And as it stands, this hair growing from my scalp is a legal battleground.”

Our headlining speakers included American Bar Association President Deborah Enix-Ross and CROWN Act architect, advisor, expert, and law professor Wendy Greene. Additionally, law professor Leslie Thomas KC, a barrister from the United Kingdom, spoke on “Why my barrister’s wig is culturally insensitive.” Law professors Patricia Broussard of FAMU and Shelly Page of Southern Illinois University were in conversation on “Policing our bodies: The expectations and professionalism of Black hair in law.” We also had Binta P. Mamadou, an associate at Allen and Overy LLP and founder of Visions Braid Bar. An attorney and the founder of a Black hair salon? Could anyone be more perfect to speak?

As part of the symposium, I coordinated and wrote the research analysis on the Black Hair Legal Professionals Survey. We surveyed over 200 lawyers, law students, paralegals, and other legal professionals about Black hair at their firm.  We received nearly 100 captivating firsthand experiences where hair was an issue at work for legal professionals.  We captured this in our research paper and anthology.

Through our results we’ve been able to extract thought-provoking insights about how Black women wear their hair for their job interviews as opposed to how they wear their hair on a daily basis once they get the job. We have also extracted what percentage of individuals have changed their hair to feel more professional at work.

I’m thrilled with the results of the symposium and adding to the national dialogue on Black hair, natural hair, and now the dangers and controversies around hair relaxers. The symposium made me realize that there were other Black law students and legal professionals who share the same hair anxieties as me. Talking about it empowers us. Researching it gives us the data we need to make and be the change in Big Law. It’s all very exciting, and I can’t wait to share the results of our research in this Black Hair Big Law series.

Angela Mackie-RutledgeAngela Mackie-Rutledge is a dual British & American citizen and the mum of twin boys and a cheeky singleton girl. She holds a BFA from New York University an MSc from the University of Brighton (UK) and an LLB from the University of Law in London. Angela is a former Mastermind contestant where her specialty topic was Morrissey, his life, and solo career.  She was a winner of the 2017 Choose Law Full Fee Scholarship which gave her a full scholarship to attend law school.  She is currently an LLM candidate at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and will graduate in December 2022. She plans to take the DC bar in February 2023. She’s also looking for a job after graduation. Hire her!  She can be reached on LinkedIn.

 

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