Weather woman Rhonda A. Lee was let go from her job as a meteorologist in Shreveport, La. after defending her choice to wear her naturally curly hair. Rhonda took to the station’s Facebook page to defend her her natural hair against critical viewers, which resulted in her being fired. After a lengthy period of unemployment, she worried she would never work in news again, Rhonda received several job offers.
A year and a half ago, Rhonda found herself at the center of a firestorm after she defended herself on KTBS 3 News’ Facebook page. After she responded to several viewers’ complaints about her natural hair, she was fired by the station, an ABC affiliate, for misuse of their social media policy. Rhonda promptly filed an Equal Opportunity suit against the station and is currently in mediations to reach a resolution. She says she has no regrets when it comes to defending her natural hair.
Despite feeling as though she had ended her career by publicly defending her natural curls, a month ago Rhonda was offered three positions. She ultimately took a position as a meteorologist with WeatherStation located in Denver, Colorado. She accepted the position with the national station, which will allow her to reach millions of American homes. While she was initially worried that her pending suit against the Shreveport station would work against her, she said her new employer was unconcerned.
Although she felt frustrated due to the initial blowback from refusing to change her natural curls, Rhonda is glad she chose not to bend to societal demands. Rhonda chose to stick to her personal values and continues to work against the pressures that women face to adapt their natural hairstyles to a more “mainstream” look.
To learn more about Rhona’s triumph, check out here .