Baltimore arts society dismisses director after backlash over cornrows at Burning Man
Kelly Carnes says the Baltimore Rock Opera Society dismissed her from its executive director role after an online reaction to photographs of her wearing cornrows at Burning Man. The dispute has raised questions about the society’s reasons for ending her employment and whether Maryland’s protections for race-associated hairstyles may apply.
Carnes began the job on 8 September, the day after Burning Man ended, and says concerns emerged after BROS posted a video of her; the group later removed it. She says her dismissal letter called her “not a good fit” and did not mention her hair, but she is exploring possible legal action under Maryland’s CROWN Act. No claim has been filed, and BROS has declined to comment further.
- Kelly Carnes says BROS fired her after criticism of her cornrows.
- Her dismissal letter reportedly said she was “not a good fit”.
- She is exploring legal options under Maryland’s CROWN Act.
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The Baltimore Rock Opera Society is a Maryland-based arts group that recently dismissed its newly hired executive director, Kelly Carnes, after just a few weeks in the role. The dismissal followed online backlash over photographs of her wearing cornrows at the Burning Man festival.
Cornrows and similar hairstyles are protected under Maryland's CROWN Act, a law designed to prevent workplace discrimination against people for wearing hairstyles associated with their race or culture. The case raises questions about whether such protections are being properly enforced.
Hairstyle discrimination is a longstanding workplace issue, particularly affecting Black employees and others from communities where certain hairstyles are culturally significant. Growing awareness of this problem has prompted several US states to establish legal protections in recent years.
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The case for
The organisation provided a stated business reason—that Carnes was 'not a good fit'—which is a legitimate ground for employment decisions under at-will employment principles. The dismissal letter itself did not mention her hairstyle, and without explicit evidence linking the termination to her appearance, it is reasonable to accept that the decision reflected concerns about management fit, vision alignment, or capability discovered during early employment. Employment relationships sometimes fail rapidly for reasons wholly unrelated to appearance, and suspicion alone does not constitute proof of discrimination.
The case against
The timing is strikingly suspicious: Carnes was dismissed within days of photographs of her wearing cornrows that generated online backlash, and the organisation subsequently removed video content, suggesting concern about public reaction. Maryland's CROWN Act explicitly protects against discrimination based on race-associated hairstyles, and the vague 'not a good fit' rationale—unsupported by specifics and followed by the organisation's refusal to elaborate—appears pretextual. The pattern of events raises a reasonable inference that appearance-based discrimination, rather than professional concerns, motivated the dismissal.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Baltimore rock opera society fires white boss for wearing cornrow hairstyle at Burning Man”.