The depictions feature the styles worn by the young people who have been helped by campaign group Rise.365
Do you identify with vampires, ninjas or mermaids? You’re in luck. Witches, fairies and Santa make the list, as do genies, cherubs and zombies.
There are almost 4,000 emojis to choose from, but for people rocking Black or mixed-race hairstyles, the list simply doesn’t cut it. In emoji-world, it seems, neat side-partings are all the rage. Afros, cornrows and dreads are definitively out.
But now a campaign organised by London-based community project Rise.365 aims to bring Black hair to our keyboards and touch screens, and in the process ignite conversations around texturism.
“Hair shapes our identity and who we are,” said Rise.365 founder Joyclen Buffong. “First impressions are often based on the way people look, and that’s left out for us.”
The initiative was born out of conversations with young people about issues surrounding colour and race in school, work and society in general.
Texturism – the word used to describe discrimination against afro-textured and coarse hair – was one topic that cropped up time and time again, with almost two-thirds of Black and mixed-race youths supported by Rise.365 saying they have experienced prejudice based on their hairstyle.
“We know of children being excluded from school for having certain haircuts – afros and plaits, for example,” said Buffong. “It’s something we are faced with, but it’s not spoken about enough. We explored the impact of texturism in different spaces, and the digital space was one that it came up in.”
Buffong’s work around reframing perceptions of young people – particularly those of colour – grabbed the attention of PR agency Good Relations, who asked if she had anything else up her sleeve.
“When we realised that no emoji represented the rich diversity of Black and mixed-race hairstyles, we knew we had to seize this opportunity for change,” said Olivia Mushigo, senior creative at the agency.
When we realised that no emoji represented the rich diversity of Black and mixed-race hairstyles, we knew we had to seize this opportunity for change
Responding to online polls and drawings contributed by Rise.365 youngsters, the agency came up with four new emojis representing braids, afros, locs and cornrows – in men and women. In April, it plans to present the designs to the Unicode Consortium, which sets world standards for digital text and typography, in the hope they’ll be included in its definitive list.
Members of the public can help by googling ‘Afro hair’ and ‘Afro hair emoji’ as search frequency is among the factors Unicode takes into account.
“We’ve had loads of positive feedback from all over the world,” said Buffong, “but as much as we’re looking at emojis, the bigger picture conversation is representation and how we’re treated within society.”
Main image: the emoji designs that will be submitted to the Unicode Consortium
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