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Speaking Engagement Highlights
“Black Hair Matters:
Teaching and Living Race Amidst Civil Strife” at Trauma, Tresses, and Truth:
Untangling Our Hair Through our Personal Narrative (virtual conference)
Bronx Documentary Center
Dr. Jones was invited by The Bronx Documentary Center to provide post commentary on a viewing of Good Hair (2009) by Chris Rock. She spoke about: (1) the commodification and moralization of Black women’s hair; (2) how institutions and individuals have historically attempted to dictate what Black women should do with their bodies, as well as have full access to Black women’s bodies; and (3) the difference between laughing at trauma and using laughter to work through trauma, given the comedic tone of the film as Black women shared their experiences of chemical scalp burns, balding, and attempts to meet various beauty standards.
NYU Black Graduation
Keynote Speaker
NYU Loving Key, Commentator
Dr. Jones was invited by the Center for Multicultural Education and Programs at New York University to provide commentary on a viewing of Loving (2016), a film based on the monumental court case, Loving versus Virginia 1958, which overturned anti-miscegenation laws. She discussed the history of anti-miscegenation laws and how it was one way to reify race, justify racial inequality, and protect the definition of “whiteness” and “family.”
NYU Girl's Lounge Curl Salon
The NYU Curl Salon is an open dialogue focusing on culture, race, gender, and politics as it relates to hair. We bring to light the experiences that Black and other communities of color have had with their hair—the trials and tribulations, the celebrations and triumphs, and the nuances and complexities that have shaped their identities. The focus for this particular dialogue is the Evolution of Hair. Future dialogues will explore a variety of topics related to hair, culture and politics at NYU, in the United States and across the Diaspora.