‭Opinion‬

‭The effects of hair discrimination on children of color‬

‭ hat is hair discrimination and how can we fix it? What can this do to your child in a‬
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‭predominantly white school?‬

‭ y: [Insert First and Last Name]‬

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‭Jasmine Elizabeth Myers is a senior in high school. She is Jamaican American and learned how‬
‭to take care of her hair from her mom.She has been on her lock journey since she was 4.‬

‭December 12, 2023‬

‭Image credit: Getty Images‬

‭ hat would you do if your child was suspended from school just because of their hair? Call‬
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‭administration? Or maybe call the school district. Or what If you were called and your child’s school said‬
‭that you need to change the child’s hair or else they would get in trouble. That is what a lot of POC’s have‬
‭to deal with. a call from school saying that their child’s hair is not within “ dress code”. This would be‬
‭hair discrimination and it is mostly known around African Americans in the United State. all because they‬
‭have different textured hair compared to the white kids. It has been an ongoing problem for many‬
‭decades. Sources say that “society’s view of natural hair as unattractive and unmanageable was prevalent‬
‭during slavery, wherein slave owners required black women to cover their hair or adopt grooming‬
‭practices that emulated white beauty standards.”‬

‭ he term hair discrimination is discrimination based on textured hair. It’s a form of social injustice, and‬
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‭considers textured hair “unprofessional” unfortunately‬‭“‬‭this is rooted in systematic racism and its main‬
‭purpose is to preserve white spaces”. It is another form of racism. This was a quote from hbr.org.‬‭Some‬
‭schools ban things like box braids, locks, Afro, weaves and so much more.I have experienced hair‬
‭discrimination from elementary school and longer.According to an article from hbr.org.‬‭“‭p‬ olicies that‬
‭prohibit natural hairstyles like Afros, braids, Bantu knots, and locks have been used to justify the removal‬
‭of black children from classrooms.”‬

‭ y first school was predominantly black so I didn’t have much trouble there. When I moved to a‬
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‭predominantly white school I had a lot of trouble.I would get bullied about my hair and some‬
‭microaggressions were said, but I didn’t know what they meant until I was older. Most people would ask‬
‭to touch my hair, and sometimes I wouldn’t get asked and people would just come and touch it like it was‬
‭some sort of foreign thing. I would be called Medusa because my locks “looked like snakes” and when I‬
‭told the teacher they just said “not to worry about it.” All of this has made me become more self‬
‭conscious about my hair and I am always messing around with it.‬

‭ ome kids were not as fortunate as I was. In fact there are many reports of kids being suspended for their‬
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‭hair. Why would you get in major trouble for something that takes time to care for? For example there‬
‭was a recent report from AP News. The article says‬‭,‬‭“ a black high school student in Texas has served‬
‭more than two weeks of in school suspension for wearing twisted dreadlocks to school” .‬

‭First of all, why would you give a student suspension because of how they wear their hair? And secondly,‬
t‭wo weeks is way too long especially since he is going to miss so much of class. And then the teachers‬
‭wonder why that student is so behind in class. According to the same article it said, “school officials say‬
‭his dreadlocks fell below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violated the district's dress code.” My personal‬
‭opinion I think they wanted an excuse to suspend the child. Based on the picture it looked similar to‬
‭cornrows with some locks swirling around it. I don’t understand how they thought it was below his‬
‭eyebrows. Now the child is missing class time and he may have to make up for it later on. They are trying‬
‭so hard to take us POC’s out of school that they would go as far as banning certain types of hairstyles. Not‬
‭only would this make the parent mad, but it would upset the child too. They may think that their hair is‬
‭bothersome or a burden.The fact that there are so many incidents about this shows that there is an‬
‭ ccurring problem that needs to be fixed. Children should be able to go to school to learn and be educated‬
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‭not to get in trouble because of what is on their head.‬

‭ here are many ways to solve this racial problem. One would require the state’s action. There is an act‬
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‭that is being acted upon in 22 states called the‬‭CROWN act‬‭. You can call your local legislature about‬
‭this.This act states that discrimination against textured hair is unlawful in school and work. Another‬
‭solution would be for the school districts to look over the hair policies and relax them to accommodate for‬
‭people with textured hair. Don’t consider textured hair messy and untamed because that is rude. Another‬
‭way is to get rid of the rule altogether, or completely change the rule. Technically nobody can tell you‬
‭how to wear your hair, so maybe that should be a rule.‬