Southern California and southern Indiana might not have much in common, but within the past year, Larry Groupé has called both places home.

The Emmy Award-winning composer brings his experience to the Bloomington campus, where he is a visiting professor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

“When I wear the hijab it empowers me as a woman and I know that’s contrary to what a lot of people think about the hijab. They think that it oppresses you but I think that it is empowering because I don’t feel the need to show my body in order to be heard,” Sarah Kawamleh said.

Sarah started wearing the hijab at the age of 12. Sarah is Syrian American and a freshmen studying Law and Public Policy. She was born in New Orleans. Growing up in a Muslim household, her faith has been a key part of her identity. As a young girl, Sarah knew the importance of wearing the hijab and now as a young woman she finds it empowering.

Imagine your home, the place to rest your head at night; share a meal with family and friends. A place very familiar to you with your neighbors who live down the street, the friendly faces you see every day and disclosed spots only you and those dear to you know about. Now, imagine all that gone; taken away from you in a blink of an eye.

To you this is merely an imagination, a “what if” scenario. But for Hauwa Shettima and Ibrahim Mohammed, this is their reality, a reality they have been forced into, and forced to accept since the Boko Haram insurgents ravaged their villages in the North-East.

Today, more black millennial women are choosing to wear their hair chemical-free. In other words, ‘going natural.’ Hair is a basic feature almost everyone has or has had in their lifetime. For many, it is a way of self-expression and identity. Hair for many generations has been aligned with Western beauty standards in appearance and upkeep. In Western society, the norm for women is straight, long and downward growing hair. To fit into this mold and to avoid discrimination, most black women in the past have chemically straightened their hair, installed extensions or weaves and styled their hair in many other fashions. In this new era black women are taking ownership of their hair.