White woman cuts off black teen's dreadlocks 'for a better life' sparking outrage, but he defends her saying he asked her to do it
The founder of a Chicago-based non-profit recently came in for criticism over a 2016 image in which she was seen cutting the dreadlocks of a black teenager. The image in which Crushers Club founder Sally Hazelgrove, who is white, was seen cutting the hair of then 16-year-old Kobe Richardson was taken from a video shared by the organization with a caption: "And another Crusher let me cut his dreads off! It's symbolic of change and their desire for a better life!"
The picture was shared this month by Twitter handle 'Resist Programming' with the caption, "Today, the NFL's #InspireChange 'social justice group is funding & visiting a non-profit that wants to cut off the locks of Chicago Black youth for "a better life."
The initiative that the account is referring to is that of rapper Jay-Z's Roc Nation and NFL which aims to raise funds for bodies that address social issues such as education, economic empowerment and criminal justice reform. Crushers Club also received a donation from Inspired Change of $200,000, and Meek Mill, Meghan Trainor, Vic Mensa and Rhapsody agreed to visit Crushers Club as well.
In response to Resist Programming's tweet, filmmaker Ava DuVernay tweeted, "I’d like to have a conversation with you and those young people about dreads and desires and dreams. About dreads and 'a better life'. Shame on anyone supporting this full-on nonsense."
But 19-year-old Richardson from Chicago has now spoken in suport of 56-year-old Hazelgrove after she received the backlash over the picture. According to ABC News, Richardson said, "You shouldn't judge a person over a picture, because that's not who they are. And they don't know Sally. Sally is a good woman. All I know her to do is help and love people."
Richardson had met Hazelgrove when he was 16-years-old and was involved with gang violence. He was left to die after being shot at 14 times and it was Hazelgrove that he saw when he woke up in the local hospital after being in a coma.
Hazelgrove's Crushers Club helps at-risk children through boxing and mentoring. She also helped Richardson get back on his feet after his near-fatal accident.
He is currently working as a supervisor at Crushers Club and has remained in touch with Hazelgrove, whom he addresses as 'Miss Sally'.
Richardson further explained that it was he who wanted his dreads to be cut because he saw it as a connection to his days as a gang banger. Hazelgrove helped him because he couldn't afford a barber at the time. He told TMZ, "That was something I wanted to do—that was my choice. Yes, I know dreadlocks are a [part of] culture ... I just got tired of being profiled as somebody that I'm not."
Hazelgrove on her part has apologized for her actions and stated, "I could see how it could be interpreted as insensitive now that its come out a few years later. I regret not having the forethought and being more sensitive, and that I was not more careful."
However, people on Twitter are not convinced by her apology. In fact, after it came to light that she had liked tweets by the now US President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr and former right-wing student organizer Charlie Kirk among others, she was trolled further.
Speaking about why she liked these particular tweets earlier, she told Fader, "I tried to get every president’s attention — Obama, my Mayor [Rahm Emanuel]. I was trying to get on their radar. I’ve been working out here for 20 years. I’ve been desperate to get the attention of people in power who could help us. I should have had more forethought. I understand [liking the tweets] could have inadvertently been seen as insensitive."
She further added, "To be honest, I’m not up with anything as much as you are. I did try to reach out to Rahm Emanuel. I tried very hard to get his attention. I can tell you there was not that much forethought behind it."