On Thursday 29th May, leading debate hosts Intelligence Squared hosted a discussion event titled ‘Untangling the Politics of Black Hair’ in Selfridges, as part of the famed London stores’ Beauty Project campaign, and we at SPICE were there to catch all the controversial flying opinions.
Hosted by Hannah Pool and with panellists such as celebrity hair and MUA Edee Beau (read our interview with her, here), popular natural-haired blogger Emma Dabiri and British MP Diane Abbott, it proved to be a educational and enjoyable debate full of fiery opinions, hilarious hair stories and key discussions points for those who work in the black hair care industry and beyond.
While we couldn’t pick a favourite panellist, with each woman bringing a unique perspective to the debate, we did take a way some interesting points – which you might’ve caught on Twitter via our live commentary during the event. If you didn’t, see below the most poignant quotes from the evening – and if you attended, do let us know what you thought of the debate using the comments box or by tagging us on Twitter with @SPICETVAFRICA and the hashtag #BlackHairPolitics;
“You don’t have to judge me by my politics or by my hair but by what I do.” – Diane Abbott
“Whatever you do, do it well. Love who you are.” – Edee Beau
“We need new, more positive vocabulary to describe black hair.” -Emma Dabiti
