The very first emoji was developed in 1999. Twenty-five years later, there are nearly 4,000 of them to help us communicate quickly. From little devils to a sweet, kissy face, there’s an emoji for practically everything. Or…is there? According to RISE 365, a community support group, out of all those emojis, not one has natural Black hair.
Teens Develop the First Natural Black Hair Emojis
Afro and mixed-race hairstyles still face discrimination and RISE 365 argues that Black children and teens are excluded from representation by the current lineup of emojis. In response, student members from Hackney, East London, developed a series of emojis with popular Black hairstyles. These emojis include Afro, braids, cornrows and locs and would include the option to vary skin tone if accepted by Unicode (which accepts and rejects new emoji designs).
But these black hair emojis aren’t guaranteed a spot in your phone just yet. First, they have to be accepted by Unicode, which standardizes special characters like emojis. And back in 2019, when black hair emojis were proposed for the first time, they were rejected.
Spice Girls’ Mel B Fights Hair Discrimination
That’s why RISE 365 and celebrity supporters like the Spice Girls’ Mel B are encouraging supporters to search for terms like “Afro hair.” The goal is to demonstrate a demand for black hair emojis, making it clear that existing curly hair options are not enough.
“Search the words ‘Afro hair’ on Google and join us in making a statement for change,” RISE 365 writes in an Instagram post. “Every search makes a difference and helps us show the demand for this representation. Let’s show the world the beauty and diversity of our hair.”
This isn’t the first time Mel B has joined the fight against hair discrimination. Earlier this year, she joined the call encouraging the UK to update its Equality Act 2010 to include protection from hair discrimination. Sharing her own experiences on Instagram on World Afro Day, Mel B explains how her hair was seen by others.
“My hair has always been a personal statement – all my life,” Mel B shares. “I grew up a mixed race girl in working class Leeds in the 1970s. Kids at school had no idea what to call me. I was different. And I had my big wild curly hair that stood out. It wasn’t neat and tidy. There was too much of it to fit into elastic hair bands and I wore it out. I got called names. I got singled out. But it was my hair and I wasn’t going to change it – for anyone.”
That included the music industry, which tried to pressure her into straightening her hair for the Spice Girls’ first ever music video.
“But I stood my ground – backed by my girls – and I sang and danced as me with my big hair, my brown skin and I was totally proud of who I was,” she shares. “I had no idea the impact that video had on thousands of little brown and black girls all over the country.”
