FAQs
Read our Frequently Asked Questions about the Halo Collective. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to get in touch.
What is the Halo Collective?
The Halo Collective is a youth-led Collective of organisations and individuals working to create a future without hair discrimination.
Isn't hair discrimination already illegal in the UK?
Technically, yes! Race-based hair discrimination has been illegal in the UK since the the Equalities Act became law in 2010. But for many Black people, battling racist hair policies - official or unofficial - is still part of everyday life. We’ve been suspended from school, held back in our careers, and made to feel inferior by racist policies and attitudes. The law is clear, but it’s simply not enough.
The Halo Collective is campaigning to help schools and workplaces understand how to fulfil their legal and moral obligations, and to help pupils, parents, and employees understand how to safeguard their right not to be discriminated against.
There are so many issues with dress codes, why only focus on hair?
The Halo Collective is a Black-led campaign with one mission - to end hair inequality for good. We exist to stop the policing of Black hair in schools, workplaces, and on the street.
We acknowledge that there are other important issues that need to be addressed regarding dress codes. We look forward to supporting campaigns that challenge other elements of discriminatory dress codes.
Some hairstyles are just unprofessional. Isn't this about what's suitable for the workplace?
Perceptions of Black hair as unprofessional, unpresentable, and thus unacceptable come from centuries of Eurocentric messaging portraying straight hair as the ideal and anything diverging from it as needing to be ‘tamed’. The idea of "unprofessional" hair is often deeply rooted in racist social norms. Halo is taking steps to push employers, schools, and the broader culture to change their understanding and acceptance of Afro-textured hair, and to help dismantle a culture of discrimination experienced by Black people who continue to face implicit or explicit pressures to conform, unwelcome comments, and outright unequal policies.
Doesn't giving Black hair its own code draw unwanted attention to Black people and make them feel even more othered?
The Halo Collective exists to champion and celebrate Black life. This Halo Code is designed to make spaces more welcoming and supportive, and never to “other” those in our community.
Does Halo encourage every Black person to have natural hair?
Absolutely not! As a collective of Black people ourselves, we love talking about the varied and wonderful hairstyles Black people enjoy. Whether you’re rocking fulani braids or a full weave, we got you.
How does Halo define Black?
The term Black has historically been used as a racial and political label. Here, we use it to refer to members of Black diaspora communities, including those with mixed heritage, who as a result of their ancestry have Afro-textured hair.