Someone once asked me, "Kandice do you thinks it is acceptable for Kylie Jenner to wear dreads?"

I replied quite adamantly, "No! Most definitely not!"

The person then replied, "Why? Isn't it just hair?"

The answer is no. It is not.

After that conversation, I intensely contemplated why I thought it was not acceptable for a white person to wear dreads. Can white people not wear dreads? Can only "down" white people wear dreads? Can a white person wear dreads if they have black friends? Does the black community "own" dreads?

I realized I do not have a problem with white people wearing dreads in general. It is essentially a hairstyle and black people are not the only ones who have worn it throughout history. However, that hairstyle has been a major symbol for a multitude of Black movements. The main issue I have though is the injustice black people receive when they wear the hairstyle opposed to when white people wear it. The way society treats people of different races with the same hairstyle is what makes Kylie Jenner wearing dreads unacceptable.

Last year, Kylie Jenner was praised and considered "edgy" for her faux locs. However, just last week, I was scrolling through my timeline on Twitter and came across an alarming headline. It read "U.S. Court Rules Employers Can Discriminate Against Dreadlocks." I immediately laughed and thought it was a joke, so I kept scrolling. But then I saw another one that reported the same news. I read the article and continued to shake my head over and over again. A black woman with dreads lost her job after she had already been hired because the company believed that "dreadlocks tend to get messy." ALL hairstyles can get messy if they are not maintained though. Society complains about afros, but decides to discriminate against a hairstyle that actually keeps kinky hair (which many black people possess) manageable. The entire situation was unbelievable and it left me even more disappointed in America.

So no. Dreadlocks, afros, cornrows, box braids, etc. are not "just" hairstyles. People of color can potentially lose their jobs for having these hairstyles, while white people can wear the hairstyles and receive little to no discrimination, which is white privilege. But sure, white people can wear dreads, just not as a fashion statement. They should either come from a culture that wears the hairstyle as a symbol or at least understand/be educated about the struggles that people of color face when they wear the hairstyle from day to day. Discrimination has always been present in the U.S. It never left. It is just phrased differently using political and indirect wording. Stay woke.