Six Flags Dreadlocks 'Extreme' Racially-Charged Controversy in Largo Maryland

Six Flags Dreadlocks ‘Extreme’ Racially-Charged Controversy in Largo Maryland

Written by Robert Douglas on May 6th, 2010 in Gossip/Rumors, People - U.S., WTF, News.

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Phtoo of Janet Bello and Jackie Sherrill denied jobs at Six Flags For Dreadlocks
Two African-American women are outraged over being turned down for a job at Six Flags because of their dreadlocks hairstyle.

Two Maryland women are accusing Six Flags of discrimination after they were denied a job because of their dreadlocks.

According to reports, Janet Bello and Jackie Sherrill were denied a job at the Six Flags theme park in Largo, MD after the women refused to fit company standards by chopping off their dreads.

“I think it’s outrageous, and I really think it’s sad.” Bello said in an interview with ABC 7. According to Bello, Six Flags can literally just “go to hell.”

Sherrill, who once worked for the theme park, claims she was asked to return to work but was dumbfounded when the park told her she to had to cur her dread’s off.

Since this story broke in the media, Six Flags released a statement saying that the company enforces a conservative grooming policy across all their parks and the policy does not permit certain hairstyles. The hairstyles that are not permitted include a variation of hair colors, dreadlocks, partially shaved heads, tails and hairstyles that impair an individual’s vision. Braided hair is allowed but they say it must be neat, in even rows and must not contain beads or any other ornaments.

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6 Responses to “Six Flags Dreadlocks ‘Extreme’ Racially-Charged Controversy in Largo Maryland”

cowbulls Says:
May 7th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
I think the company has every right to enforce a dress code. I also believe that the two applicants have every right to seek work elsewhere that doesn’t have a conservative dress style. I miss the past days when theme parks had uniforms that matched the area or theme of the section of the park.
chuck Says:
May 7th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Somebody please tell these two women that the real unemployment rate in this country is 17%. Companies have multiple applicants for each job. College and high school students can’t find summer jobs. The economy is in the toilet and headed even further worse. The city of Atlanta and many other cities and state governments are facing bankruptcy if they don’t cut retirement benefits in order to balance their budgets. Greece is having mass riots because of those very same years of reckless spending.
I suggest that these women immediately take a VERY low profile because NO company wants to hire “activists” that will cause trouble.
Tim Baldwin Says:
May 7th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
This is an example of employees feeling they have the right to tell companies how to run the business. And they aren’t even hired! Clearly there isn’t anything racist involved. I’m sure the park hires countless African Americans. Like numerous businesses, from retail to media, many companies have a commitment to their image. It is their choice and they are by no means under any obligation to hire someone who disagrees with them. It sounds like they would have poor attitudes from the start.
Ignorance is to the bone! Says:
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:35 pm
This isn’t just about a hairstyle. Wearing locks is an african american cultural thing (not to be mistaken for a fad) and for some african amerians even religious. Yes, there are some bad apples with unkept hair; which can make it difficult for the rest of us. However, those few bad apples don’t speak for the whole tree. I am a business professional and I wear locks; my hair is very well maintained and neat. I believe Six Flags code is dated and should be updated to allow the hiring personnel to decide whether the applicant or employees hair or clothing work against the companies theme. As long as the person practices good hygiene (including their hair) there shouldn’t be a problem. A Companies policies are important and necessary, however , they must make sense. I agree with CNN’s Roland Martin….. If you have a problem with employing lock wearers, then you should have a problem accepting lock wearers money.
AngryHomosexist Says:
June 7th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
It’s actually not even just an African American thing, but dreadlocks for black people all over the world are just as natural an expression of their own respective cultural aesthetics as long wavy hair is for nordic europeans. To deny employment based on that PARTICULAR form of self-expression is racially insensitive at best.

Now, Tim Baldwin, you are right. It is the company’s perogative to represent a certain image through their employees’ appearances. But when those requirements are steeped in a long narrative of monocultural perceptions of professionalism that put down, deny and ridicule aesthetics as they are seen by people from different backgrounds (mutliculturalism) then it is no longer a question of what a companies “commitment to their image.” It becomes a question of social justice.
Nick Says:
July 8th, 2010 at 9:47 am
What people are failing to realize here is that dreadlocks are not just a hairstyle. They are a subject of religious and racial heritage for both black and many white people. It’s illegal in the United States for any kind of discrimination against a person for either by an employer. Just because we are in a recession doesn’t mean that companies should be able to circumvent the laws that are supposed to keep them in check.