The Halo Collective
Building a future without hair discrimination
Who We Are: The Halo Collective are an alliance of individuals and organisations working to create a future without hair discrimination, founded by young Black organisers from The Advocacy Academy.
What’s the problem? Despite hair being a protected racial characteristic under the law, there is a widely held belief that Black hairstyles are not suited for formal settings, and may be unhygienic, messy, disruptive, or unkempt. These ideas strike at the freedom and dignity of Black people and serve no purpose other than to instil shame in us about our Blackness.
How are we solving it? We have a three part strategy:
- Adopt the Halo Code. We’re calling on every school and workplace in the UK to protect the rights of Black students and staff by adopting The Halo Code.
- Fix Up the Law. Although hair discrimination is against UK law, it still happens all the time. Ask the Government to fix up the law by explicitly naming Black hair in the Equality Act.
- Slay the Stigma. We’re over being stigmatised for our hair. Help us change the way Black hair is perceived through research, education, and positive representation.
How can I help?
Whether you’re a teacher, a workplace, a student, or someone who just wants to join us, find out more here.
“No young Black girl or boy should see their curls, coils and kinks as anything less than beautiful.” Zhané, Thornton Heath, South London
Real change takes persistence.
Since starting, we’ve learnt that sometimes that means change in just one school.
Other times it’s national media coverage. And other times it’s about national politics.
We are here to stay, and are focused on getting the multiple wins required to end afro-hair discrimination.
schools and workplaces signed up to our Halo Code
including the BBC, The Guardian and Vogue
to support our campaign
building a shared, values-led vehicle for change.
Campaign gallery
