Girl sent home from school because her hair style was "inappropriate for her race"
04-06-2005 | 10:11 AM
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Girl sent home from school because her hair style was "inappropriate for her race"
http://zerointelligence.net/archives/000375.php
Btw, this is in the UK, not here in the US, but regardless...
Btw, this is in the UK, not here in the US, but regardless...
Originally Posted by zerointelligence.net
A 13 year-old student of Middleton Technology College was sent home because she is the wrong race for her hairstyle. She had her normally straight hair put in tight braids at a family outing and the school allows only dark skinned students to wear this particular style. She will not be permitted to return to school until she removes the offensive hairdo.
Talk about double-speak! It would be discriminatory to prevent a black student from wearing cornrows but doing the same to a white student is simply enforcing discipline. The article linked in this post has a picture of the girl and she looks fine to me; not at all "street" or "extreme".
I have no problem with a reasonable uniform policy. In fact, I am generally in full support of them. However, when the policy changes depending upon the ethnicity of the student it is no longer uniform.
Middleton Technology College headteacher Allison Crompton confirmed that braided hairstyles were generally banned in the school but she would make exceptions for hairstyles which are a reflection of cultural heritage rather than a fashion statement.
Ms Crompton said: "We don't allow any extreme hairstyles of any description at the school. We are a high-achieving school with high standards and we don't allow any street culture into school.
"We are very strict on appearance. Wearing a school uniform signals that children are ready and willing to be a part of the school community. We have smart children who work in a purposeful way because that's the ethos of the school.
"If we didn't allow some leeway for their cultural and ethnic background I think it would probably be discriminatory."
Ms Crompton said: "We don't allow any extreme hairstyles of any description at the school. We are a high-achieving school with high standards and we don't allow any street culture into school.
"We are very strict on appearance. Wearing a school uniform signals that children are ready and willing to be a part of the school community. We have smart children who work in a purposeful way because that's the ethos of the school.
"If we didn't allow some leeway for their cultural and ethnic background I think it would probably be discriminatory."
Rochdale MP Jim Dobbin is now trying to negotiate a compromise, but he admits he doesn't believe the school has reasonable grounds to keep Olivia away.
He said: "The family visited my surgery recently and I have asked the LEA to mediate with the school. I personally do not consider the hairstyle in any way outrageous and I hope Olivia can return to full time education immediately. I do not consider this to be a reasonable exclusion."
Coun Colin Lambert, Rochdale Council's spokesman for education, said: "The school should concentrate on what goes into the students' heads and not what is on their heads."
He said: "The family visited my surgery recently and I have asked the LEA to mediate with the school. I personally do not consider the hairstyle in any way outrageous and I hope Olivia can return to full time education immediately. I do not consider this to be a reasonable exclusion."
Coun Colin Lambert, Rochdale Council's spokesman for education, said: "The school should concentrate on what goes into the students' heads and not what is on their heads."
04-06-2005 | 11:03 PM
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discrimination against a white person is the same as against a black person, if rolls were reversed you can bet there would be a fight, but it's become fashionable to discriminate against white people I say equal rights means the same no matter what the race
04-07-2005 | 12:08 AM
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Originally Posted by archemedes
discrimination against a white person is the same as against a black person, if rolls were reversed you can bet there would be a fight, but it's become fashionable to discriminate against white people I say equal rights means the same no matter what the race
04-07-2005 | 12:13 AM
#11
Originally Posted by archemedes
discrimination against a white person is the same as against a black person, if rolls were reversed you can bet there would be a fight, but it's become fashionable to discriminate against white people I say equal rights means the same no matter what the race
I agree completely.
04-08-2005 | 06:10 AM
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Originally Posted by archemedes
discrimination against a white person is the same as against a black person, if rolls were reversed you can bet there would be a fight, but it's become fashionable to discriminate against white people I say equal rights means the same no matter what the race
04-08-2005 | 01:06 PM
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A friend of mine is starting an anti-affirmative action league because he says it's become racist lately. the pendulum (sp?) swung too far in the other direction, instead of stopping at the center.
04-08-2005 | 01:42 PM
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there have been racists on both sides for as long as therre has been integration (Malcom X was an extreme racist) the thing I think is funny is all the work they did in the '60s to integrate everything, and black and white people have moved and whatnot to resegregate schools (look at any local school district it's either predominatly white or predominatly black that's not an accident)