A PhD does not magically transform sleepwear into business casual. UMass Amherst Associate Professor Dr. Jamila Lyiscott decided to teach her first day of class wearing a bonnet as an act of “solidarity” with Black women and girls who, she says, should have permission to simply exist.
And apparently the rest of us are supposed to broaden our understanding of professionalism.
No, ma’am.
Black women do not need permission from white people, institutions, universities—or anybody else—to exist. We are image bearers created by God. But freedom does not mean every choice we make must be affirmed, and standards do not suddenly become racist because somebody doesn’t like being held to them.
There is a difference between dignity and defiance.
There is a difference between cultural expression and refusing to recognize that different environments require different standards.
And there is certainly a difference between what you wear to bed and what you wear while standing in front of a university classroom teaching young adults who are preparing to enter the real world.
What makes this even more remarkable is that Dr. Lyiscott didn’t simply wear the bonnet. She made an ideological argument for it—connecting bonnets, racial oppression, institutional standards and even the Nolan Wells case.
That deserves a response.
Because when we teach young Black Americans that every expectation placed upon them is oppression, we aren't preparing them to succeed. We're teaching them to interpret correction, standards and consequences through the lens of perpetual victimhood.
And I refuse to cosign the lowering of the standard.
Let's talk about it.
Leave your thoughts in the comments:
Is wearing a bonnet in a professional classroom environment simply personal expression—or are we increasingly confusing rebellion against standards with liberation?
And as always: stand firm, stay bold, and above all else, stay Unshakable.
#UnshakableWithAprilChapman #BlackCulture #HigherEducation #Professionalism #UMass
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