Don’t Mess With The Hair

Who has authority over a child’s hair?

Why is hair controversy so damn common? Why don’t some in the US understand that the individual decides what’s best for their hair? Why don’t some people understand the sanctity of a parent’s relationship to their child’s hair? (especially for melanated people)

Here are 3 recent examples:

In Jefferson Parish Louisiana, a teen girl was sent home from a private school for having natural hair in locs. A young man was forced to cut his hair at a wrestling meet because a judge claimed it was too long for the ring. And a girl named Christian had her hair chopped off by her dad and step mom because they didn’t like that her mother highlighted her hair.

2 of these were outright racist and culturally discriminatory, while all 3 are abusive. And I know what they feel like.

I am a mixed child who was lied to for 9 years about my father and my heritage. My mother kept my hair as straight as possible and avoided any discussion of my easily bronzed melanin.

When I started to take care of my own hair, I discovered that it was a mixture of curls and waves with random straight patches and I was confused. My mother told me to stop…