© 2026 ABC News

\"My news station and Nexstar Media Group, Inc. have been very supportive of me wearing my natural hair on-air,\" said Roberts. \"I didn't always have the confidence to do it. It was a step-by-step process. I started with a bun, then an afro-puff then an afro and now box braids.\"

\"Since transitioning into the news industry, this is actually my first time wearing them since 2018. I love how they look, I love the versatile styling options, and most of all the convenience of being able to just wake up, take off your scarf off and go.\"

Roberts said she posted the pictures of her hair on Twitter to show people that braids are professional. She said that women including Texas-based reporter Tashara Parker and Michigan-based Ashley Graham have inspired her to rock her natural crown and braids.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by COMMUNITY-FOCUSED STORYTELLER (@tasharaparker) on Aug 3, 2020 at 6:59am PDT

\"I'm not just speaking for myself when I say Black women feel like we need to conform to society's beauty standards in order to be accepted.\"

\"Previously, I thought the only way I could get a job in this field was by wearing my hair straight.,\" she added. \"Straight hair was considered professional. However, my hair does not grow from my head straight. Quite frankly, using a straightener on my hair too much can cause damage. My hair should not have to be straight for it to be considered professional. My natural hair or protective styles like braids should be acceptable in the workplace.\"

The Illinois-based reporter, unfortunately, lost her mother to breast cancer at 12 years old and said that before becoming a nurse her mother had a dream of being a news reporter.

Roberts is fulfilling her late mother's dream and continues to inspire others.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Style/reporter-shares-powerful-post-wearing-braids-air-1st/story?id=72211612","legacySlug":"/style/story/reporter-shares-powerful-post-wearing-braids-air-1st-72211612","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"20:09","publishDate":"08-06-2020","updatedTime":"12:24","updatedDate":"08-07-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Treasure Roberts opens up about wearing braids on television as a news anchor.","credit":"Eugene Daniel III","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/roberts-02-as-ht-200806_1596730425854_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"8/6/2020 20:09:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":72211612,"headline":"Reporter inspires others with braided hair on-air","mediaAssetTitle":"REPORTER BRAIDS ON AIR","description":"She's defying the odds while inspiring others. ","duration":"1:15","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/06/200625_gma_digital_boxbraids_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["71574191","71437669","71875856"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"July 2, 2021","headline":"National Crown Day: 13 states have passed laws to ban natural hair discrimination ","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/national-crown-day-states-passed-laws-ban-natural-71574191","id":71574191,"image":{"alt":"National Crown Day: 13 states have passed laws to ban natural hair discrimination ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/phenomenal_1625243101518_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"courtesy of Phenomenal, photographed by Ismail “Calligrafist” Sayeed","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"June 26, 2020","headline":"How to do your own box braids like a pro: tools, tips and best practices ","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/box-braids-pro-tools-tips-best-practices-71437669","id":71437669,"image":{"alt":"How to do your own box braids like a pro: tools, tips and best practices ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/BoxBraidMainImage_0625_v01_DG_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"@kersti.pitre @nocie_x","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"July 22, 2020","headline":"Combatting colorism in 2020: 'She's pretty for a dark-skin girl'","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/colorism-people-color-overcome-insecurities-biases-71875856","id":71875856,"image":{"alt":"Combatting colorism in 2020: 'She's pretty for a dark-skin girl'","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/hands-illustration-rf-gty-jc-200720_1595272327558_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"STOCK/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Reporter inspires others with braided hair on-air","description":"She's defying the odds while inspiring others. ","duration":"1:15","uploadDate":"08-06-2020","publication":"08-06-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/06/200625_gma_digital_boxbraids_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/06/200625_gma_digital_boxbraids_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/style/story/reporter-shares-powerful-post-wearing-braids-air-1st-72211612"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133015093","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998564","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998072","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977374","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977531","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132962364","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132958371","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132932494","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132927870","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132911868","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132911765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132880952","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132873763","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132844494","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132840754","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132748964","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132636882","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132747869","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132738086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132714218","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:style:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"style","title":"Reporter inspires others with braided hair on-air","pubTime":"16:09","pubDate":"08-06-2020","modTime":"08:24","modDate":"08-07-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":72211612,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Reporter inspires others with braided hair on-air","mediaAssetTitle":"REPORTER BRAIDS ON AIR","videoId":72211612,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/style/story/reporter-shares-powerful-post-wearing-braids-air-1st-72211612"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/72211612","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/72211612","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};