Have you ever struggled to find an emoji that truly represents you during a text exchange with friends? You’re not alone. Of the nearly 4,000 images in the emoji universe, none reflect the hairstyles commonly worn by Black people, such as braids, afros, and cornrows.
This gap in representation has prompted London-based youth organization Rise.365 to take action. The group is dedicated to helping young people thrive by providing mentorship, counseling, and educational support. Recently, they engaged young members to design emojis featuring hairstyles that reflect Black culture. After reviewing submissions, they narrowed the options down to four styles: braids, afro, locs, and cornrows.
In April, Rise.365 plans to submit these designs to the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit organization that oversees emoji creation and ensures they can be shared across platforms. The Consortium takes user demand into account, including Google search trends, when deciding which emoji designs to approve.
Amina Gray, a youth mentor at Rise.365, emphasized the importance of representation, stating, “Black people, and women in particular, tend to have so many different hairstyles but none of these are represented. We need to normalize that our hair – whether it’s in its natural state or in a protective hairstyle – is acceptable … is professional.”
Gray hopes that the Unicode Consortium will consider their designs and that this initiative will spark a broader movement toward inclusivity both in the emoji space and beyond. She remarked, “The four we have designed are just the start. [The campaign] is a teaching opportunity. I don’t want people to think we just want emojis because we want to be represented that way. It’s because there’s a much deeper message behind it, about empowering people and helping people realize that their hair is beautiful.”
