Afro hair is not allowed in primary school

[Mumkris]

Hello everyone,
I am really struggling to understand why my son’s hair is not allowed in school. He is biracial and he loves his gorgeous curly hair. His primary school, however insists that he should cut it or plait his hair as it’s causing a distraction and they “cannot have that”?!
I read their hair policy and there is nothing against that. His hair is long but not long enough to be tied back. It is what it is - natural!

What length is the hair? Is it as long as the child or adult in my pictures. If it's the child then l could maybe understand as that probably impacts on other students being able to see if he's in front if them.

Same education system will be teaching democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of choice etc etc, but not when it comes to hair apparently. All BS.

Don't even get me started on school uniforms.

Our kids are being boxed in, so they conform to the norm, so they grow up and live in boxes, go to work in boxes and work in boxes. Pay taxes, be loyal to queen and country, believe in our way of life (whatever the fuck that is) blah, blah, blah. Multicultural cosmopolitan country, my arse.

If they show any unconventionality they are singled out and made to conform. Disgusting!!

The school will probably role out the H&S card.

And the image of having to straighten Afro hair to have it neat and tidy is racist. If it’s not long enough to tie back then it’s not too long

This!

Good grief you can tell there aren’t many mods around at night eh? Some truly awful blatantly racist comments on this thread, some deliberately obvious and some just bloody ignorant.

I'm imagining a junior Perri from Diversity.

This is racial bias whether it is intentional or just ignorance it doesn't matter. I'm assuming the teaching staff are white. To be honest I didn't have any idea of the differences in caring for and dealing with afro hair until I met a close friend, and then reading 'white teeth'.

Re:my son's hair

Dear head,

I do not know if you realise how different afro hair is to your own. Unlike caucasian hair, afro hair does not flop in to the eyes or grow down one's back.

My son's hair is a natural style. Neither of your two options, braiding or cutting are suitable options.

My son is developing as a person and is proud of his dual herritage and having his hair grow naturally is part of that. As another boy in the school has long hair I assume there is no rule about the legnth of hair.

I realise you are going to say that other boys tie their hair back, that is because they can. Afro hair just does not tie back i the same way. This is why you do not see black people with ponytails, afro hair just will not go into a pony tail.

As for braiding, well, honesty would you tell a white child to braid their hair? Afro hair being braided is a racial sterotype. Yes lots of people do have their hair braided, but it takes time and has to be done by someone else and often the braids you see have been enhanced by extensions and has been 'relaxed' first.

The process of 'relaxing' is almost identical to a caucasion 'perm', the chemicals used are similar.

I say almost identical, but a different experience. You may enjoy a trip to the hairdresser, if you had afro hair you would not, it is a painful process and requires dirty hair.

I am not going to keep my son's hair unwashed for a number of weeks and then subject him to a painful process which will have a detrimental effect on his cultural identity, ie forcing him to conform with the norms of a white culture.

I trust there will be no further discussions extracting promises from a child who is only just starting to explore his unique identity in a multicultural Britain.

disclaimer

I know you can braid hair without relaxing it, but the head isn't to know that and I only implied it.

Well said noego, well said.
FishesThatFly, my son’s hair is similar to your adult’s photo.
I don’t get people saying it’s a distraction because children behind him cannot see. It’s not that. Are you saying that if your child was, let’s say very tall or perhaps very big, that would be a distraction?
They don’t like it. Or shall I say they don’t like my child or my family. Do they think a mixed raced child is always a problem child? I think so.
And yes, these policies are outdated and were written by white people for white people.

There’s a distinct undertone of “but he looks different so it’s ok to comment” on this thread.

Instead of telling a child with Afro hair to hide it, why shouldn’t he be allowed to have his hair in a usual style for Afro hair?

Who is being distracted? That implies there are complaints?

Thank you, Sashh. That’s a brilliant letter. I will use that and ask for a reply in writing. They like discussing such issues so there’s no evidence.
My son says braiding is very painful indeed. We did it only 3 times in 10 years and all 3 times it was unbearable to watch how he was kicking and crying. Last time we did it the hairdresser used extensions. As a boy, he didn’t see why he needed it. He asked me not to tell anyone about extensions. It is also expensive. People don’t realise it costs £20-30. He didn’t enjoy any minute of it.

I think your boy's hair sounds great. Sashh's letter should do the trick.

However, Afro hair to one side, I would just like to point out, as a teacher, that hair (whatever its type or texture or colour) CAN most certainly be a distraction. I've taught numerous children (as it happens, white Caucasian) who spend the entire time fiddling with it, putting it up, putting it down, pulling it into a curtain across their faces and pulling faces through it to those around them, making a top pony tail and whirling it round like a helicopter blade, leaning back to see how far down their back it will stretch, leaning forward for the same trick, plaiting it, unplaiting .... all while I'm trying to teach a lesson. Every child close by is more intent on watching this side show than concentrating on the lesson.

sashh, great letter!
Mumkris, hopefully the school will get a better idea if you send that in. Of course, you shouldn't have to be reminding the school about diversity. They should have policies and be adhering to them. I sincerely hope that this is just a case of ignorance rather than singling-out.

Op I think you should stick to your guns, your child’s hair isn’t long enough to be tied back then it should stay how it is. Unless the school have specific policy that states ALL boys hair should be cut short or plaited then they have no right to tell you anything. The talk about it being “distracting” is absolute bollocks - how the hell can a head of hair be distracting. I’d pay that no head what so ever. I am white and have massive super curly hair that I bloody love. As a teen I was hauled out of the class room by my year head (in my catholic school with no hair dress policy.) and told to comb out my “birds nest hair do” or it would be “cut out” the next day by her. I went home distraught- my mother had a stern word and there was no more chat about my hair. These people want your child to conform to “smooth” hair because in their eyes that means “neat tidy respectable” it’s bollocks their assertion that he is somehow out of the ordinary is also racist. Don’t stand for it op they are bullies.

You might also want to mention traction alopecia that can result from braiding
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traction_alopecia.

When my DD got some sarky comments from classmates about her hair the form tutor made the whole class watch a video about the history of black hair with the links to slavery and control. A few of her classmates apologised to her afterwards. There are loads of such videos on YouTube if you want to send them one.

Mumkris

No problem. I think you should add in the cost and the fact that you have tried braiding.

Ideally they should write something into their equality and diversity policies.

If written well it will also give them an out when dear little Jessica wants to have her hair down 'because your ds has'.

By the way every time I say corn rows my partner corrects me and says it is cane rows. Anyone else have this debate.

I would leave out the bit after “...racial stereotype” and just say that it takes a long time, costs a lot and is painful. I don’t think any kind of detail is necessary.

jewel yep, I never say corn rows, it's cane rows🙂

He explains that sugar cane was the main crop on the slave plantations in the Caribbean whereas corn was more commonly grown in the US.

Great letter Saassh.

Go get them OP - well done OP for standing up to this racial bias.

How is this racism? None of the girls in my daughters class wear their hair in an Afro at school despite the fact that several do out of school. Likewise hose with long hair are asked to tie it back. It sounds like it has been dealt with poorly though. But you are not doing your son any favours teaching him to be militant and inflexible.

I always thought it was corn rows. Is it maybe regional? I wonder if I’ve only ever heard them called something on American TV.

He explains that sugar cane was the main crop on the slave plantations in the Caribbean whereas corn was more commonly grown in the US.

Ah. Xpost with this.

I love all the hair styles posted. Green with envy.

I would ignore the school and put a complaint in.

Actually ignore me I hadn't read the full thread. I didn't appreciate it wasn't long enough to tie back. That is ridiculous.

This is highly racist in my view. Afro hair is completely different to Caucasian hair and you should not try to fit Afro hair into a Caucasian look or 'standard',if you like, for what is 'neat' or'acceptable'.

The head sounds pig ignorant if he/she doesn't understand the politics of black hair. Doubly shame on them in a multicultural city school.

How big is the afro? I have to say I find your it hurts me so much! comments a bit peculiar

River - well said!