This week I focused on natural hair in the news. The first article I came across, involved a school in Louisville, Kentucky that banned certain natural hairstyles, including dreadlocks, twists, Afros longer than two inches and cornrows. Further proof of the ignorance was that they misspelled cornrows in the new policy as “Corn Rolls.” After the policy became a viral tweet, state legislators contacted the school and the policy was then removed. When asked for a response the school said the policy was simply about neat grooming not offending a culture. The policy has now been changed to “hair must be well-groomed, well-kept and at a reasonable length.”
The next article I read was again revolving a young girl this time 5 years old. Her mother takes care to keep her hair healthy. This includes styling hair with coconut oil. This is an organic hair solution that is known to many as the holy grail of natural hair. Well when this 5 year old girl went to her kindergarten class she came home with a note from the teacher. The note was asking the mother to withhold the application of coconut oil because it is a distraction to the students, but the teacher also said the reason for the note was so the other students would not make fun of her. The mother was angry with the note especially since her daughter is the only black girl in the class. The mother posted the note on social media and it went viral. Coconut oil has a faint smell but not one that is so pungent it is considered “distracting.” The teacher received backlash for blaming the victim and not the bullies. She should have addressed the students poking fun at the girl instead of writing a letter to the mother who is trying to instill a sense of self love in her child. After investigation of the incident it was revealed that none of the children complained about the smell and that the complaints actually came only from the teacher. The news article shows that natural hair is misunderstood.
Oct 162016