Cassandre Beccai, Walla Walla University Title IX coordinator and equity, diversity, and inclusion specialist, will present “Black Hair and American Beauty Politics” on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. in Chan Shun Pavilion, room 154, on the WWU campus.

“My presentation will be an exploration of the complex relationship black diasporic populations have with their hair. I’ll examine specifically, black women’s negotiated experience at the intersection of personal appearance, race, class and politics; and the casual effect of their influence on popular American culture,” Beccai said.

Beccai has worked as a consultant for major beauty brands and has been featured as an expert in black hair and beauty on Buzzfeed, CurlyNikki.com, Latest-Hairstyles.com, and BlackGirlLongHair.com. She has helped educate black women on the history of black hair, has developed a hair care product line, has nearly 2.5 million views and 40,000 followers on YouTube, and runs a beauty themed blog with a newsletter readership of more than 20,000. Beccai has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from New York University and a master of divinity degree from Andrews University.

The presentation is free and open to the public. Chan Shun Pavilion is located at 100 S.W. Fourth Street in College Place.

Posted Jan. 13, 2020