Young people in Hackney have started a campaign to improve the representation of afro-hair in digital media. During a session at the youth-led organisation RISE365 last year, participants addressed the insufficient digital portrayal of Black hair similar to theirs.

Jocelyn Buffong, founder of RISE.365, remarked, “There are thousands of emojis available, yet none accurately reflect their hair type. While there are emojis for genies, snowmen, and various other figures, afro-hair remains unrepresented.”

In response, community members Jayzik, Dante, Reanna, and Rafael designed their own emojis. Buffong collaborated with a branding campaign to digitise their sketches, resulting in the ‘Hairmoji’ campaign gaining international attention.

The initiative has gained support from notable figures such as Mel B and the skincare brand Dove, who joined efforts to petition the Unicode Consortium—a US-based organisation responsible for the global distribution of emojis—to include the new designs. The group is currently awaiting Unicode’s decision.

Regarding the widespread publicity, Buffong noted that the young contributors feel proud and surprised by the campaign’s global reach, expressing hope for official approval.

Their work is now featured in Hackney Museum’s latest exhibition, Stories Woven in Strands. RISE.365 has curated this story alongside testimonies and visually impactful artwork to promote greater representation of afro-hair.

The exhibit addresses texturism, defined as a form of discrimination where straighter hair textures are privileged over tighter curls, coils, and afro-textured hair. Over the past two decades, the resurgence of the natural hair movement has prompted people of African descent to challenge straightened hair norms, countering longstanding stigmatisation.

The absence of appropriate emoji representation epitomises these ongoing issues. Buffong highlighted the irony, noting the presence of an afro curl emoji but the lack of a full afro emoji: “How can you have one without the other?”

Founded in 2019, RISE.365 aims to empower youth from under-represented backgrounds through advocacy, counselling, mental wellbeing initiatives, and a Saturday food shop offering discounted items. Buffong emphasised that the mission centres on providing young people with opportunities to voice concerns and address under-representation.

This campaign exemplifies the empowerment that RISE.365 strives for. Participating youth are now leading workshops in schools focused on afro-hair representation.

Buffong hopes that both the campaign and the exhibition will contribute to a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by individuals regarding afro-hair misrepresentation, particularly concerning employment, education, and related stigma.

Discrimination in schools

It is a stigma seen in Hackney’s education system. In recent years, several scandals have hit the borough’s schools.

In 2016, 14-year-old Ruby Williams made national headlines when she was told by teachers at Urswick Secondary School that her hair was too big. The school’s uniform policy specifically banned afro hair that was deemed of excessive volume, leading to Williams being repeatedly sent home and refused entry to the school. Her family fought the school’s decision and, with the support of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), filed a race discrimination claim against the school. They received a £8,500 settlement and the EHRC helped the school develop a new hair-style policy that considered factors including race.

But Williams’ case was not an isolated one.

In 2020, a 14-year-old boy was banned from attending Hackney’s Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy because the school said his fade haircut, a common hairstyle among black males, was against school policy.

A letter from the school told his mother, Monica Francis: “In future you must attend any hair cut appointments with Tyrese to ensure it adheres to the policy.”

Research by Pantene, Black Minds Matter and Project Embrace in 2021 found that 93 per cent of black people in the UK have experienced slights related to their Afro-hair.

The most common location for this discrimination for this were schools (59 per cent).

After growing pressure, the EHRC issued UK-wide guidance in 2022 to prevent further hair discrimination in schools.

Under the new guidelines, school uniform and appearance rules that ban certain hairstyles, without considering a person’s race, is likely against the law.

Calls for changes to the law

But campaigners are looking for the government to go one step further.

Labour MP Paulette Hamilton and singer Fleur East were among leading Black Britons who signed a letter last year calling to update the Equality Act 2010 to make afro hair a protected characteristic.

The letter said that the “omission of hair as a protected characteristic from the law has facilitated everyday discrimination and the normalisation of afro-hair as inferior in every sphere of life”.

RISE.365 believe their campaign is furthering this mission: “By educating people about texturism and demanding change, young people can reshape the conversation around hair, identity, and representation.”

Stories Woven In Strands: Texturism and the campaign for hair representation
Hackney Museum
1 Reading Lane
Hackney
E8 1GQ
Until 29 November 2025