Read the full article by Hannah Ross at The Sacramento Observer
Orange and green tubs of Vaseline, coconut and tea tree oil ring a picnic table at Jack Davis Park in South Oak Park on Aug. 3. Among the spread: wide-tooth combs, bonnets, grease, moisturizers and other essential products for Black hair and skincare that the Community Lead Advocacy Program (CLAP) collects and distributes to homeless communities across Sacramento through its Black Hair & Hygiene Drive.
Zuri K Colbert, CLAP’s founder, and Faye Wilson Kennedy, current chair of the Sacramento Area Black Caucus and co-collaborator of the drives, have been organizing to acquire these essential products “like the Underground Railroad” as Kennedy put it, for over three years, when they identified a key gap in homeless support systems: products specifically for darker skin tones and textured hair.
Black people make up 33% of Sacramento’s homeless population according to the most recent Point in Time Count, an overrepresentation compared to the 9% stake in Sacramento’s general population. Despite the data, shelters and mobile-shower programs consistently fail to budget for products that cater to Black people, Colbert said. Before founding the organization in 2020, Colbert spent years working in more traditional community health settings.