TBH, if her family's been in the American South since antebellum days, I would bet money she has a Black ancestor. But I digress. There are other paths to inheriting thick curly hair, most of them despised by some group of idiots or another and none of them deserving censure.

The discussion had more "your boss is an idiot; also, here are some suggestions that work with your current hair" and much less "you should change your hair since your boss said so" than I was expecting, which was good.