The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America by Arthur C. Brooks

Author:Arthur C. Brooks
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: politics
ISBN: 9780062319760
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-06-06T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

A CONSERVATIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE AGENDA:

A Better Way to Fight Poverty

Jestina Clayton came to America in 2000 as a refugee escaping Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war. Her name, “Jestina,” means “justice” in her home country.1 But what Jestina found when she tried to start a business in America was anything but justice.

Jestina moved to Utah in search of a better life. Looking for a way to help support her growing family while her husband went to school, she saw an opportunity: There were a number of parents in Utah who had adopted African children, but did not know how to braid their hair. Growing up in Sierra Leone, Jestina had learned the art of traditional African hair braiding. She had been braiding hair since she was five years old. And so, like countless American entrepreneurs before her, Jestina came up with an idea to tap into this unserved market: She would start an African hair-braiding business for these adopted children.

It was not long before word spread among parents, and her business took off. “It’s not like it was bringing me millions,” she told National Public Radio, “but it was covering groceries.”2

Jestina Clayton was an American success story. She had escaped a terrible situation, come to the land of freedom and opportunity, and founded a little business that, while not making her rich, was allowing her to help take care of her family. She was building her life. That is the American Dream, right?

Not surprisingly, Jestina was shocked when she received an email from a stranger who warned her, “It is illegal in the state of Utah to do any form of extensions without a valid cosmetology license.” The sender threatened to report her to the authorities if she did not stop braiding hair.

Jestina had thought that in America, all you needed to start a business was a good idea and the willingness to work hard to earn your success. So she was stunned to discover that she needed a cosmetology license from the government requiring 2,000 hours of classes costing $16,000. She would have to study 40 hours a week for 50 weeks to do something she already knew how to do. Worst of all, not one single hour of the required training was in African hair braiding. The license had nothing to do with her business.

Jestina was sure that if she explained her unique business to the state cosmetology board, they would see the absurdity of the situation. She was not using any chemicals or equipment that required training. She was just braiding hair. She came to the board with a PowerPoint presentation, explained her business, and asked for an exemption. They turned her down, and told her that she had two choices—get the required training or get the state legislature to change the law. Their solution was to ask a war refugee, new to our country and trying to start a new business, to lobby the state legislature.

Jestina had hit a dead end. She was forced to close

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