Seven years ago, I penned a piece about an 11-year-old Black girl who was denied entry from her Catholic elementary school near New Orleans because she arrived with her hair braided with extensions. About midway through, I included what I thought was a non-controversial assertion: “As Black individuals’ hair is generally distinct from white individuals’, any hair policy must be thoughtfully considered to avoid making some students susceptible to rule violations that others wouldn’t face.”
A reader reacted with a comment that was entirely unexpected yet thought-provoking: “What if Donald Trump remarked, ‘As Black people’s hair is generally different from white people’s,’ would we see a column about him making racist divisive comments?”
This reflects a viewpoint that bringing up race is fundamentally problematic and that recognizing racial differences is inherently racist.
However, it’s a fact that Black individuals’ hair is generally different from white individuals’. This reader’s remark has lingered with me as it mirrors a belief held by far too many conservative white individuals, including those in the current Trump administration: that referencing race is inherently problematic and acknowledging racial differences is racist.
Neglecting to recognize that people are different leads to outrages like the “interim guidance” issued by the Marines this month: Marines with pseudofolliculitis barbae (the medical term for razor bumps) can now face “separation” (essentially, discharge) if the condition isn’t resolved within a year.
Despite my personal fondness for the idea of shaving my face with a razor, I rarely do because the hair that grows back invariably curls into my skin, resulting in painful bumps. Once those bumps emerge, shaving becomes a challenge. Anyone who shaves can experience razor bumps, but the American College of Osteopathic Dermatology reports that pseudofolliculitis barbae occurs in up to 60% of African American men. An article in American Family Physician highlights the incidence could be as high as 85%.
A military dermatologist quoted by Military.com mentioned that Black service members comprise about 15% of the active-duty military, yet “66% of shaving waiver holders are Black.”
The Marines argue that their interim guidance aims to maintain “standards of readiness, discipline, and lethality,” but “separating” service members for having razor bumps seems certain to weaken, rather than strengthen, the Marines.
In July 2021, the Journal of Military Medicine revealed a study indicating “a significant association between shaving waivers and promotion delays.” In October 2021, two dermatologists on active duty in the Air Force penned a letter to the Air Force Times in response. “Contrary to popular belief, PFB is often not controllable without a shaving profile permitting a brief period of hair growth,” stated Lt. Col. Simon Ritchie and Lt. Col. Thomas Beachkofsky. “The assumption that these individuals simply need to learn the proper shaving technique is factually incorrect and contradicts our knowledge as dermatologists regarding this condition.”
It’s troubling enough that Black service members have been overlooked for promotions due to the adverse effects of close shaves. It becomes infinitely worse if the Marines consider expelling individuals with razor bumps.
These types of policies emerge when one maintains the misguided belief that we are all the same and that a one-size-fits-all policy is inherently fair.
There exists a framework that assists organizational leaders in developing policies that may appear equitable and neutral on the surface but lead to unequal advantages or disadvantages for certain groups. This framework is known as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which has been criticized and effectively banned by Trump’s administration.
You may have joined the anti-DEI movement yourself, but if you believe it would be unjust and self-defeating for the military to discharge Marines who’ve devoted themselves to serving and safeguarding our nation purely because their facial hair curls into their skin, then your stance aligns with pro-DEI principles.
The Trump administration relegates race (along with sexual orientation and gender) to topics that should be ignored.
Similar to the individual commenting on my 2018 column, the Trump administration considers race (as well as sexual orientation and gender) as subjects that should not be mentioned. I don’t believe the people in the Trump administration are misguided; rather, it appears their motivations are primarily sinister. However, their anti-DEI beliefs resonate with those who simplify the view that everyone is the same, assert that treating everyone equally is always correct, and maintain that ignoring our differences will lead to a blissful existence.
Since Trump’s presidency began, we have witnessed the Air Force temporarily removing a training video honoring the heroic Tuskegee Airmen, the Department of Defense derogatorily adding the letters DEI to the URL of a webpage recognizing Army Maj. Gen. Charles Gavin Rogers’ Medal of Honor, and temporarily taking down the page honoring Jackie Robinson’s service as a second lieutenant in the Army. Three years before Robinson broke MLB’s color barrier, he faced wrongful court martial—ultimately being acquitted—after refusing to sit at the back of a bus on an Army base.
If you perceive discussions about race to be inherently detrimental or consider acknowledging the racism faced by Black individuals in the military to be inherently wrong, then such attempts at erasure are unavoidable.
In a more tangible sense, a policy that discharges men with razor bumps will amount to an erasure.
We are not all the same. And the Marines’ “interim guidance” is racist because it implies that we are.
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