Charter School Deems Afros And Dreadlocks Not ‘Respectable,’ Hassles 7-Year-Old

toddler with afroCultural insensitivity seems to have a home at Deborah Brown Community School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Seven-year-old Tiana, a now former student, was left in tears after her dreadlocks were considered a violation of an otherwise very problematic dress code that describes afros and dreadlocks as too “distract[ing]” for their “respectful and serious atmosphere.” Apparently, African-American hair doesn’t constitute as presentable for this charter school — a super racially charged statement to say the very least.

Fox23.com reports that Tiana’s father and professional barber, Terrance Parker, decided to withdraw her from the school that lumped his daughter’s natural hair in with “faddish hairstyles.” The school’s dress code is as follows:

 It states, “hairstyles such as dreadlocks, afros, mohawks, and other faddish styles are unacceptable.”

The school feels that could distract from the respectful and serious atmosphere it strives for.

Parker says that he decided to pull his daughter from the 2013-2014 school year because the school “hassled him and didn’t leave him a choice.” He maintains that his daughter, who is a straight-A student, had the exact same hair style last year and it wasn’t a problem.

So, to be clear, if this little girl chemically straightened her hair to resemble that of her presumely white peers, then that would be kosher? I can’t even.

(photo: cpayne)

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