8-year-old denied school pictures because of her hair color
8-year-old Marian Scott reminds me of my daughters, black, creative, expressive and happy! Like Marian, my daughters look forward to picture day because this is one of the very rare moments, they can ditch the uniforms and express themselves through their clothes, hair and accessories. Unfortunately, according to USA Today, when Marian’s picture day arrived she was denied the opportunity to take pictures because her hair was red.
It appears that Marian attended a charter school that has a policy that state’s kids must wear hair color of natural tones. Understood. But the one day that should be allocated to allowing students to show their personality in pictures is stripped from them? And, the school decided this was the time to enforce their rule and deny this young lady the opportunity to be photographed? Bad call!
In October Marian told USA Today,
"I felt sad, and everybody else got to get their pictures except for me," she said. "And some of my friends were laughing and stuff like that."
Is it not enough that our black girls deal with hair discrimination among their peers, that this young girl was subjected to humiliation by an institution that is suppose to teach her, in so many ways, freedom of speech and the value of individuality—among other things?
When photographer Jermaine Horton of Chicago saw the story last month, he contacted Marian’s family and drove four hours to give her the photoshoot she deserved! What a hero!
In 2019 this is what we are dealing with. Having laws and legislation like The Crown Act to protect us in the workplace—is vital. Affirming our young black girls and allowing them to express themselves through color by purchasing our itch-free braid hair may have once sounded like a sales gimmick, but after reading this story it’s apparent that your support is more about validating our young queens that their beauty choices—matter. Having more black owned hair accessory makers like Latched and Hooked Beauty matter because we need more products that our black girls and women can use that support our needs.
Read the full article here.
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