Webinar - The Ohio State University: Natural Hair Activism in Brazil

The third webinar in our Brazil Gateway series will have its first guest: Marla Goins, a PhD candidate in the Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education & Human Ecology at The Ohio State University.

"Loving your own hair: the natural hair activism in Brazil and the situation against racism"  will explore how and why black Brazilian women preservice teachers and activists perform natural hair activism. Black women have experienced discrimination on the basis of their hair across time and space, in various institutions such as school and work. Thus hair-straightening has become commonplace to avoid that discrimination. However, natural hair activism promotes the embrace of their natural hair. The talk is based on research that was conducted in São Paulo during 2018 and 2019. The study consisted of two (2) preservice teachers and six (6) activists. Goins collected prompted narratives from those women, and observed them facilitate school- and community-based afro hair workshops. By teaching to embrace afro hair, they sought to transform oppressive ideas about black features, encourage positive understandings of blackness, and ultimately foster black empowerment and antiracism. In this presentation, participants will learn about the gender and racial contexts from which natural hair activism has emerged in Brazil, and the role that activism can play in combatting racism in education and society.

Join the webinar by registering and share with those who might be interested. See you on May 6 at noon (US time) or at 1pm (Brazil time).

Mais sobre Marla Goins:

Marla Goins is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education & Human Ecology at The Ohio State University. Her research interests include black feminism, antiracism, and critical professional development. Upon graduating she seeks to increase equity and diversity in education through teaching, scholarship, and service. She is scheduled to defend her dissertation in May 2020.