NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt is bringing to light more of the dangers hair relaxers pose to Black women in a new report by correspondent Zinhle Essamuah.
In the exclusive clip from Thursday night’s broadcast, Essamuah sits down with several Black women in Atlanta who have used relaxers for decades. These women, along with many other Black women across the country, have filed state and federal lawsuits against hair relaxer manufacturers. They claim that from using the relaxers, they developed life-threatening cancers, such as uterine, endometrial and ovarian cancers.
One of the women Essamuah spoke with, Marnitta Ballard, talked about how she felt when she found out she had endometrial cancer. As she said, she felt part of her womanhood was taken away after realizing she would never be able to have children. This greatly affected her, especially as someone who comes from a family in which childbirth was usually not an issue.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt airs 6:30/5:30c.
Watch a preview below: