Science, Systemic Racism, and the Spectrum of Black Hair
by Sebabatso Manoeli
with Malebogo Ngoepe
This week, Cape Town-based biomechanical engineer, Malebogo Ngoepe and I meet to discuss an underexplored prism through which racism is examined: science. We begin our conversation by discussing the disproportionate Covid-19 infections and mortality among Black people and communities of colour more broadly, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom. Malebogo explained that from a scientific perspective,
“the exact link between black communities, thrombosis and Covid has not yet been elucidated, but it’s just a really damning outcome that shows that the years of systematic exclusion and underfunding bear fruit years down the line when a disease like this strikes.”
We then explore in greater depth the connection between the wider socio-political context and the notion of scientific objectivity. In particular, she noted that the relationship between the scientist and the questions they deem worthy of exploring is often rooted in their experiences, histories, and imaginations. To this point, when posed with the question “why study afros,” Dr Ngoepe explains:
“As someone who lives with an afro on my head, it is an important question to me every single morning …”
She explains the innovative work of the Hair and Skin Lab at the University of Cape Town that -inter alia - challenges reductionist, racialised approaches to the study of the spectrum of curly hair, which affects how Black people's hair, in particular, is understood.
We talk about the controversial TRESemmé hair shampoo advert rolled out by South African cosmetics chain, Clicks. The ad’s racist messaging that described Black people’s hair as “dry” and "damaged,” and white people’s hair as “normal”, “fine and flat” exposed what Malebogo calls “a narrow conceptualisation of normality.”
For more, listen here.
SUBSCRIBE:
SOUNDCLOUD | SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS | GOOGLE PODCASTS | STITCHER | PODCHASER | RADIO PUBLIC | TUNE IN
Malebogo Ngoepe is based in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on the application of mechanics to human biological systems including blood clotting, heart disease and curly hair. She is currently an Iso Lomso fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study.