Black History

COMMENTARY: Study Linking Relaxers to Cancer is “Fake News”

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump says manufacturers have “aggressively misled Black women to increase their profits.” He recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a client who contracted uterine cancer after using chemical hair straightening products sold by L’Oréal USA. Cheryl Morrow, daughter of Black haircare legend Dr. Willie L. Morrow delivered this letter to Crump and his co-counsel.

Published

3 years ago

November 20, 2022

Oakland Post

Cheryl Morrow, daughter of Black haircare legend Dr. Willie L. Morrow.

By Cheryl Morrow | Special to California Black Media

A major study by the National Institute of Health (NHI) found that women who received hair relaxer treatments at least four times a year had a three times greater risk of uterine cancer. A previous study found a 30% increased risk of breast cancer.

Manufacturers are currently facing lawsuits across the country, because, according to the plaintiffs, they failed to warn them about the cancer risks associated with exposure to toxic chemicals in products.

Cheryl Morrow, daughter of Black haircare legend Dr. Willie L. Morrow delivered this letter to Crump and his co-counsel, and it reads:

“I am the daughter of the greatest textured [hair] beauty scientist in the history of the world, and a legatee of the only industrial revolution for American-born Africans. It is my opinion, American-born Africans represent the greatest human ascent in the modern civilized world as well as in human history.

“Enough is enough.” The exploitation of Black health for profit is ENOUGH!

The latest study of relaxers being linked and making Black women three times more susceptible to uterine cancer is simple junk research. This is an attack. I am taking the NIH study as an attack on our legacy.

What researchers seem to be missing, is that out of all the so-called corrosive salon treatments all races of women receive, relaxers are the one that carry the least amount of processing time. This simply means that researchers have not taken this into consideration, the time exposure factor.

Ben Crump and attorney Diandra Zimmerman, along with their client Jenny Mitchell, blindly filed this lawsuit while being grossly ill-informed.

If you, Attorney Crump want to chase a lawsuit because you think L’Oréal has deep pockets and money to blow just to save its face, I will push to encourage them not to do so. This will cast a stain on an ethical industry and will be an atrocity for an industry that has built enormous wealth and power for Black America.

I will not allow the propaganda machine’s random research to destroy and wither our industrial juggernaut with false concern and hidden agendas. This is fake news and junk research at its best.

I am all for research as my late father Willie Morrow, the greatest scientific mind in the history of beauty science, we’ve had always blazed the trail toward safe innovation for the Black haircare industry. The language attorney Crump and his co-counsel are using is reckless and feckless.

Black hair care is not predatory, and it sickens me to receive countless calls from my peers having to defend our profession from layperson idiocy and bloodthirsty lawyers.

Having spent 19 years in New York City, I have also devoted expertise in this area. This is not about me defending the giant beauty conglomerate L’Oréal — Lord knows I have had my issues with corporate run beauty companies, but food for thought here; the lack of state governed cosmetology boards addressing the scientific aspects of hair and scalps of textured hair Americans and the distinct way it grows and thrives, it just goes to show that all hair (textures) aren’t the same after all.

The apathetic way in which state boards and state policy makers focus on minor issues like cultural styling, which falls under the First Amendment freedom of expression clause, doesn’t deter discrimination from occurring. However, junk research is more sinister. It is about affecting economic bottom lines.

I will not have this happen!

Hair straightener (relaxer), or better known as lye, is a plantation concoction and was originally a Black man’s thing called the Konkaline aka “The Conk” trend.

This was formulated, mixed in the kitchens on plantations and slave camps of America. This was created by Africans on plantations due to our native-born styling implements not accompanying us to the Western world.

Having served as an expert witness in many Black haircare litigations for defendants, relaxers fall under the FDA’s category of depilatories.

This means it is a dissolver and not a penetrator. The nature of high alkaline pH treatments doesn’t interact with skin as you would like them to, nor do they work like most industry professionals, state board officials and chemists have educated us to believe they do.

This is the ignorance my father Willie L. Morrow tried to combat in 1982, but his efforts fell on deaf ears. Correcting this malfeasance is most urgent.

Every state board in the United States should also be sued if you want to go the lawsuit route. To be frank, because the consumer also has a home-based version and buys it at their own discretion, like tap faucet water, your eagerness to pick up on the NIH’s study that is not conclusive is beneath the oath you took when you became an attorney, my dear sir.

I have, and am willing, to educate all Americans and all adjacent professional industries that will join me in making beauty safer. We are a proud industry, with high ethics and I do not appreciate this assassination of Black haircare.

My father would be a soldier in this attack. We have worked countless years and have amassed the most extensive and invaluable texture enhancement scientific data in the industry to date. Black haircare is leading in this regard. Our research is rooted in Afro-textured [hair] science, these findings are sound research that show a different picture on the overall health risks for Black women who relax.

We do have a lot of work to do, however. My legacy will be to return Black haircare to its glory era, the one that I grew up in, the industry that has and should continue to make Black America economically sovereign to create its own version of the American dream.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

January 2, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Big God Ministry Gives Away Toys in Marin City

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Published

3 weeks ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

From top left: Pastor David Hall asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. Worship team Jake Monaghan, Ruby Friedman, and Keri Carpenter. Children lining up to receive their presents. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Big God Ministries, pastored by David Hall, gave toys to the children in Marin City on Monday, Dec. 15, on the lawn near the corner of Drake Avenue and Donahue Street.

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Around 75 parents and children were there to receive the presents, which consisted mainly of Gideon Bibles, Cat in the Hat pillows, Barbie dolls, Tonka trucks, and Lego building sets.

A half dozen volunteers from the Big God Ministry, including Donnie Roary, helped to set up the tables for the toy giveaway. The worship music was sung by Ruby Friedman, Keri Carpenter, and Jake Monaghan, who also played the accordion.

Big God Ministries meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA Their phone number is (415) 797-2567.

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First 5 Alameda County Distributes Over $8 Million in First Wave of Critical Relief Funds for Historically Underpaid Caregivers

“Family, Friend, and Neighbor caregivers are lifelines for so many children and families in Alameda County,” said Kristin Spanos, CEO, First 5 Alameda County. “Yet, they often go unrecognized and undercompensated for their labor and ability to give individualized, culturally connected care. At First 5, we support the conditions that allow families to thrive, and getting this money into the hands of these caregivers and families at a time of heightened financial stress for parents is part of that commitment.”

Published

3 weeks ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Costco. Courtesy image.

Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers Can Now Opt Into $4,000 Grants to Help Bolster Economic Stability and Strengthen Early Learning Experiences

By Post Staff

Today, First 5 Alameda County announced the distribution of $4,000 relief grants to more than 2,000 Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers, totaling over $8 million in the first round of funding. Over the full course of the funding initiative, First 5 Alameda County anticipates supporting over 3,000 FFN caregivers, who collectively care for an estimated 5,200 children across Alameda County. These grants are only a portion of the estimated $190 million being invested into expanding our early childcare system through direct caregiver relief to upcoming facilities, shelter, and long-term sustainability investments for providers fromMeasure C in its first year. This investment builds on the early rollout of Measure C and reflects a comprehensive, system-wide strategy to strengthen Alameda County’s early childhood ecosystem so families can rely on sustainable, accessible care,

These important caregivers provide child care in Alameda County to their relatives, friends, and neighbors. While public benefits continue to decrease for families, and inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, these grants provide direct economic support for FFN caregivers, whose wages have historically been very low or nonexistent, and very few of whom receive benefits. As families continue to face growing financial pressures, especially during the winter and holiday season, these grants will help these caregivers with living expenses such as rent, utilities, supplies, and food.

The funding for these relief grants comes from Measure C, a local voter-approved sales tax in Alameda County that invests in young children, their families, communities, providers, and caregivers. Within the first year of First 5’s 5-Year Plan for Measure C, in addition to the relief grants to informal FFN caregivers, other significant investments will benefit licensed child care providers. These investments include over $40 million in Early Care and Education (ECE) Emergency Grants, which have already flowed to nearly 800 center-based and family child care providers. As part of First 5’s 5-Year Plan, preparations are also underway to distribute facilities grants early next year for child care providers who need to make urgent repairs or improvements, and to launch the Emergency Revolving Fund in Spring 2026 to support licensed child care providers in Alameda County who are at risk of closure.

The FFN Relief Grants recognize and support the essential work that an estimated 3,000 FFN caregivers provide to 5,200 children in Alameda County. There is still an opportunity to receive funds for FFN caregivers who have not yet received them.

In partnership with First 5 Alameda County, Child Care Payment Agencies play a critical role in identifying eligible caregivers and leading coordinated outreach efforts to ensure FFN caregivers are informed of and able to access these relief funds.FFN caregivers are eligible for the grant if they receive a child care payment from an Alameda County Child Care Payment Agency, 4Cs of Alameda County, BANANAS, Hively, and Davis Street, and are currently caring for a child 12 years old or younger in Alameda County. Additionally, FFN caregivers who provided care for a child 12 years or younger at any time since April 1, 2025, but are no longer doing so, are also eligible for the funds. Eligible caregivers are being contacted by their Child Care Payment Agency on a rolling basis, beginning with those who provided care between April and July 2025.

“This money is coming to me at a critical time of heightened economic strain,” said Jill Morton, a caregiver in Oakland, California. “Since I am a non-licensed childcare provider, I didn’t think I was eligible for this financial support. I was relieved that this money can help pay my rent, purchase learning materials for the children as well as enhance childcare, buy groceries and take care of grandchildren.”

Eligible FFN caregivers who provided care at any time between April 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025, who haven’t yet opted into the process, are encouraged to check their mail and email for an eligibility letter. Those who have cared for a child after this period should expect to receive communications from their child care payment agency in the coming months. FFN caregivers with questions may also contact the agency they work with to receive child care payments, or the First 5 Alameda help desk, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST, at 510-227-6964. The help desk will be closed 12/25/25 – 1/1/26. Additional grant payments will be made on a rolling basis as opt-ins are received by the four child care payment agencies in Alameda County.

Beginning in the second year of Measure C implementation, FFN caregivers who care for a child from birth to age five and receive an Alameda County subsidized voucher will get an additional $500 per month. This amounts to an annual increase of about $6,000 per child receiving a subsidy. Together with more Measure C funding expected to flow back into the community as part of First 5’s 5-Year Plan, investments will continue to become available in the coming year for addressing the needs of childcare providers in Alameda County.

About First 5 Alameda County

First 5 Alameda County builds the local childhood systems and supports needed to ensure our county’s youngest children are safe, healthy, and ready to succeed in school and life.

Our Mission

In partnership with the community, we support a county-wide continuous prevention and early intervention system that promotes optimal health and development, narrows disparities, and improves the lives of children from birth to age five and their families.

Our Vision

Every child in Alameda County will have optimal health, development, and well-being to reach their greatest potential.

Learn more at www.first5alameda.org.