Editors’ note: This segment first appeared on Texas Monthly Presents , a television program airing on Texas PBS stations and PBS.org .

While a student at the University of North Texas, Isis Brantley began braiding hair, eventually building a successful business with celebrity clients. When she was arrested for braiding without a cosmetology license—which required 1,500 hours of learning, most of which was irrelevant to hair braiding—she knew something needed to change. Doyin Oyeniyi, research chief at Texas Monthly , wrote about Brantley’s activism for natural hair rights and its lasting impact.

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