Kelly Carnes started as executive director of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society on Sept. 8, and roughly two weeks later she was out of a job, after she says volunteers at the theater group complained that her temporary cornrows amounted to cultural appropriation. Carnes maintains she never got the chance to actually do the work she was hired for.
Carnes took the helm of BROS, a volunteer-powered theater company founded in 2007 that stages original rock productions, according to The Banner. In its own announcement, Baltimore Rock Opera Society said Carnes brought more than 21 years of experience in arts leadership, nonprofit strategy, communications, fundraising, operations and creative community building to the role.
Carnes had gotten her hair cornrowed for Burning Man, the festival held in a desert area of Nevada, braiding it as what she called “a protective style” to withstand the event's wind and dust, the same Banner report states. She told the outlet she wears cornrows only during the roughly two weeks she camps at the festival each year.
A Fundraiser, A Video, And A Backlash Online
On Sept. 10, Carnes attended a puppet karaoke fundraiser in Baltimore, and she said nobody who was there, including staff members she met that evening, raised any concern about her hair. A video from that event later drew concerns online from members of the BROS community over her hairstyle, prompting the organization to remove the clip from social media.
BROS said it took the concerns about the video seriously and posted a statement on social media addressing the backlash. The group has said its focus is on caring for its internal community, per a spokesperson quoted by the same outlet, and it has pointed to a mission built around community culture, anti-racist practices, inclusion, accountability, equity and access. BROS has also said it enforced anti-racism leadership training and revised its anti-discrimination policy to address cultural representation and dress.
A Town Hall She Wasn't Allowed to Attend
In response to the uproar, BROS held a community town hall on Sept. 18. Carnes said she was advised not to attend. A few days later, the organization's board met, and Carnes alleges she was fired shortly after midnight on Sept. 19, according to the Daily Mail — a timeline detail that conflicts with other reporting describing her firing as coming roughly two weeks after her Sept. 8 start without specifying the overnight hour.
The termination notice she received, she said, did not explicitly blame her hairstyle, instead stating she was let go because she was “not a good fit.” Carnes has said she never got the chance to do her job. WBAL-TV reports that BROS, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on the termination itself.
Lawyer Points to Maryland's CROWN Act
Carnes's attorney, Owen Bement, has cited Maryland's CROWN Act, which prohibits discrimination based on hair texture or hairstyle. Bement has said BROS may not lawfully separate an employee based on hairstyle-driven group distinctions, and he says Carnes is considering her legal options. Federal guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission notes that race discrimination can include treatment based on physical or cultural characteristics associated with a race, including hair texture or styles, while language from the Maryland General Assembly's CROWN Act legislation addresses hair texture and hairstyles including Afro and protective styles. Whether that law applies to BROS's size or structure, or whether Carnes will pursue a formal claim, remains unresolved.
A Leadership Vacuum at a Fragile Moment
The dispute lands at a precarious time for the small nonprofit. Four of BROS's six board members — Chair Naomi Davidoff, Treasurer Aran Keating, Secretary Dom Cerquetti and Dana Carr — are set to leave at the end of 2026, according to the same Banner report, leaving the group needing to fill leadership seats to maintain its nonprofit status. Financially, BROS reported $221,609 in revenue against $209,146 in expenses in 2024, a profit of $12,463, and it received a $15,012 grant from the Maryland State Arts Council in the 2026 fiscal year. The organization's next production, “The Orb of Pondering,” is scheduled to premiere Oct. 30.
