I Was Taught to Assimilate to Whiteness at an Early Age

I was taught to assimilate to whiteness at an early age. I can recall sitting down at the salon on a bi-monthly basis to get my hair straightened. Hot combs and flat irons never competed with rain and humidity, and so, perms (as we called it) seemed like the only option for Black women in the 90s. The discrimination we would experience for appearing to be unkept or unprofessional outweighed the damaging chemicals and burns of a perm. Month after month, year after year, I attempted to deny the kinks and coils that grew from my crown. To internalize the hate from the world is to become it, or at least, thats what it felt like. The hate for my natural hair lasted up until I was 21 years old. It was around this time that the natural hair movement was birthed, and believe it or not, I was at the forefront as a natural hair influencer (google it).

Reclaiming the Perm

Anyway… in 2019, I reclaimed the term perm (while still holding truth to the subtle and overt harm that it caused) by creating a roadmap for challenging the societal standards upholding white supremacy, called the PERM Cultural Competence Framework.

The PERM Cultural Competence Framework is designed to provide insight on your ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. It is broken down into four core dimensions that impact our day-to-day interactions: Power, Empathy, Relationships, and Mindset.

Utilizing this framework, you are able to self assess where you are on the cultural competence continuum within each dimension, while simultaneously identifying concrete actions for cultural proficiency.

Terms & Conditions: The Fine Print to an Anti-Racist Society is grounded in the methodology of the PERM Cultural Competence Framework. Within each chapter, I examine how societal messaging and norms in the United States shape our attitudes and behaviors. Based on this information, I then ask readers to engage in a series of reflection exercises that explore the impact of their individual actions on marginalized groups.

Gaining cultural competency is a life-long journey. How culturally competent are you? Download the PERM Cultural Competence Framework here.