Bi-Racial African-American Girl Faces Expulsion Over 'Natural Hair'

http://www.local10.com/news/african...hair/-/1717324/23165492/-/eo6hiz/-/index.html

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ORLANDO, Fla. -​

An African-American teen says she faces expulsion because administrators at her private school want her to cut and shape her hair.​

Vanessa VanDyke said she was given one week to decide to whether cut her hair or leave Faith Christian Academy in Orlando, a school she's been going to since the third grade.​

But for now, she and her mother do not plan to change her hair because it is part of the 12-year-old's identity. But her natural hair style comes with a cost.​

"It says that I'm unique," said VanDyke. "First of all, it's puffy and I like it that way. I know people will tease me about it because it's not straight. I don't fit in."​

VanDyke said that first the teasing from other students, but now, school leaders seem to be singling her out for her appearance.​

Faith Christian Academy has a dress code and rules against how students can wear their hair. The student handbook reads: "Hair must be a natural color and must not be a distraction," and goes on to state examples that include, but are not limited to, mohawks, shaved designs and rat tails.​

"A distraction to one person is not a distraction to another," said VanDyke's mother, Sabrina Kent. "You can have a kid come in with pimples on his face. Are you going to call that a distraction?"​

VanDyke said she's had her large, natural hair all year long, but it only became an issue after the family complained about students teasing her about her hair.​

"There have been bullies in the school," said Kent. "There have been people teasing her about her hair, and it seems to me that they're blaming her."​

"I'm depressed about leaving my friends and people that I've known for a while, but I'd rather have that than the principals and administrators picking on me and saying that I should change my hair," said VanDyke.​

"I'm going to fight for my daughter," Kent said. "If she wants her hair like that, she will keep her hair like that. There are people out there who may think that natural hair is not appropriate. She is beautiful the way she is."​

School administrators responded to an email asking about the issue, but did not provide any answers to questions.​

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[youtube]Brv0phYO-ME[/youtube]​

 

Big hair is a small distraction. I knew a white girl in the 8th grade who was paddled everytime she wore tight, see-through pants. This girl is blessed with natural hair. I think the school has to explain more about the issue of hairstyles so everyone can make adjustments when they enter campus.

 

True,Black and bi-racial females are concerned about their hair.

 

Update


Orlando school won't expel girl over hair



ORLANDO, Fla. - Administrators at Faith Christian Academy now say they are not requiring one of their students to cut her hair in order to continue attending, but they are asking her to style it differently.
Last week, a school adviser asked Vanessa Van Dyke's mother to either straighten or cut her daughter's hair or risk expulsion.
"African American hair grows out," mother Sabrina Kent said. "It doesn't grow down. Her hair is her hair. What am I supposed to do?"
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• Girl faces expulsion over her hair

Vanessa admits her hair is very big compared to other students at her school.
"It's puffy, and I know people will make fun of me, because it's not straight," she said. "I don't fit in."
Vanessa said she doesn't want to cut her hair and doesn't want to straighten it, either. At the same time, she also doesn't want to leave her classroom at Faith Christian Academy and her friends.
After the original story began to gain attention, school administrators changed their requests of Vanessa and her family.
"We are not asking her to put products in her hair or to cut her hair," read a statement sent to Local 6. "We are asking her to style her hair within the guidelines according to the school handbook."
The handbook does not cite large or frizzy hair, noting only, "Mohawks, shaved signs, rat tails, etc."
Kent said she and Vanessa are going to talk about their options over Thanksgiving.

http://www.local10.com/news/orlando...hair/-/1717324/23187954/-/n73id8/-/index.html





Still a god damn shame. Style it differently? Fuck this school.

 

So either cut or hair or put harmful chemicals in it to make white people feel comfortable?
I will keep saying this till I'm blue in the face. FUCK FLORIDA LET THAT ENTIRE BITCH ASS STATE SUCCEED SO WE CAN BE DONE WITH THIS HORSESHIT

 

oy This is coming from a guy in a state that won't let black people buy belts and instituted stop and frisk(right in the city he lives in)?

Do you ever hear him FUCK NEW YORK LET THAT ENTIRE BITCH ASS STATE SUCCEED SO WE CAN BE DONE WITH THIS HORSESHIT

stop blaming shit on few bad folks in the state.

 

Dude no one in NY is talking about succession because we have a black president. I know NY has its problems like most states but FL is the epicenter for this racial bs as of late and like I said members of the state want out so I say let them have it.

 

I feel as if you are confusing Texas which wanted out with Florida. Florida which went for Barack Obama twice. Meaning more Floridians wanted him as president than not.

If you concentrate on things like the media concentrates on every bad thing black people do, then are you really surprised that you think it is an epicenter?

 

Biracial African American

Huh??

 

HaHa!

You the first person that caught that.

I made the title like that cuz I made another thread in the news section and mofos went ape shit cuz they took it as it being racist.

 

Sounds like another way of reiterating the one-drop rule. Didn't someone on this forum once say that the rule doesn't exist? It sure seems to be in effect, especially when the multiracial person is presented in a negative light

Also, TDK, cut Florida some slack, lol. It's still better than Missouri and I'd like my son and I to remain in the union for awhile longer.

 

I've been to MO and I actually liked it there. Its pretty ok at least near Independence where I was. People were really friendly.

 

Bingo

 

I'll take SE Florida over MO any day of the week. Although, in all fairness, I've never been to Independence so I can't speak from experience.

 

The natural hair movement is an absolute blessing. Kudos to the young lady and her parents for standing firm against conformity to a singular standard of beauty.

 

Agreed.

 

bullshit on that school, she's a pretty little girl with beautiful natural hair...seriously, they need to get their shit together & protect her from the bullying

 

LOL.

I just clicked this thread....DaMn that girl's hair is a mess!!

It has nothing to do with it being nappy/kinky. It looks unkempt, too damn big and too all over the place.

It would be no different IMO if a White girl had grown her hair down to past her waist. It's a distraction.

There's no way any Black woman in my family, from the most conservative to the most 'modern' thinking, would let their 12 year old child leave for school with her hair looking like that.

The problem isn't that her hair is natural. It's not neat and tidy.

She can't braid/plait it for school??

It's a private school, hon. Suck it up or roll out.

 

^^ this! Rep coming!

 

Damn