No cornrows allowed for white chicks
School bans ‘wrong race’ hairstyle
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.
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.”
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”.
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.”
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.
(Tip credit to Bumper)
Not being of that culture, I’m not certain, but I believe the term is “corn-rows”. The braids look like rows of corn in a field.
Quite right, Jema. Thanks for catching that.
What an attractive child, and the hair looks stunning. I dislike uniforms because they encourage group-think, and subjective judgment. Even the goth kids I know are the most unfrightening kids on the earth. We tell them they look ready for marching band. While there is a difference between allowing a completely attractive hairstyle in school and allowing kid to dress for Halloween, we need to engage them and discourage fear mongering.
Having looked at the photo in the original article, I think that at 13, I probably would have been “distracted” by her. On the other hand, I think I would have been just as “distracted” if it were long straight “caucasian” hair as well.
I wonder how well this would have played if it were a black girl sent home because she was wearing her hair in a “wrong” style?
Using this logic, if someone of color used hair straightner they should be sent home since they are “out-of-ethnicity”. This is purely racist - I’msurprised they would even try to defend this. What if a Native Ameerican choose to wear a “Mohawk”?
Keep in mind, this is in the UK, not the USA.
They don’t have freedom of speech there. They claim to, but there are numerous laws there that wouldn’t survive a First Amendment challenge in any court in the USA.
Since they allow braids as part of one’s “cultural heritage” the obvious question is who are they to say who can embrace which culture? Are non-Asian students prohibited from using chopsticks in the lunchroom? Do students need to pass a genetic test for Irish heritage to where green on St. Patrick’s Day?
By the way, wasn’t Bo Derek (who’s white) in the movie ‘10′ really responsible for popularizing cornrows in the Western world?
The article states that the school “has” to allow for an exception to the hair style rule for black people, because if they didn’t, it would be racist.
Do I even need to point out the irony there?
i cant say my name because you get expelled for bad mouthing the school. the head is the only on who believes in this rule, no other member of staff thinks olivias hair is wrong. Miss Crompton is giving the school a bad name!
As a head myself, I look at the case of Olivia and her hair and literally despair that there are such ridiculous people running schools. It is a total nonsense to be fixated upon appearance to the cost of logic.
I have met Ms Comptons before and think that they rarely understand what learning is about. Yes to uniform by common consent but there has never been a case in law that proves that schools have the right to force children to wear it and ms Compton should realise that she puts herself in an indefencible position.
What is more important? Learning or looks?
Of course looks are important but so is respect and dignity and understanding and friendship which are concepts apparently lacking in the toolkit at this school.
That is so stupid any body can have braids its not speific for who has them.People are stupid black ,white ,purple ,or poka dot it doesnt matter!! I’m white I where my hair in braids every f***** week they need to get over it fo real cuz,
peace out Jessika a.k.a. lil J.J.
I thought that the teachers comments and excuses is very poor. She is racists and thats that! The children should be able to express them self in any way they want whethere it’s in or out of the school premises.
The head master should get sacked!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh my! that is absolutely racist! Hairstyles are hairstyles! who cares! people should have the freedom to pick thier OWN hairstyle, no matter what cultural belief they have!what has this world come to? everything is now revolving around race, who people are friends with, whos wealthy, and now, Hairstyles?! that is VERY sad. I believe learning is NOT about looking “clean” by wearing hair gelled back, and wearing matching uniforms that MUST be worn!this is an outrage and i will blame some pearents with racist beliefs that have passed down through the ages.
xliizx*
Excume Me but how could they do that to that girl.How could rude could that be.I am white and I am getting my hair braided this weekend so they cant stop me!!!Ha ha!
Look i am sick and tired of the race that r going around it doesn’t madder if the gurl had put braids in her hair how does that stop learning or the sun from shining because one 13 year old gurl thought it might be nice to have cornrows thats not nice man i’m black and i have two white friends that where cornrows so wats the big deal here if people want to have other hair styles they should if they want ot have differen’t looks they should but how is this stopping the learning and how is it upsetting people to c white boys or gurls have cornrows because they think it looks nice all it is, is pure racits i’m srry but it really is and olivia if u really like your hairstyle then u should stick wit it because u shouldn’t care.
PS. people care about people who care about them selves but u don’t care about those people whitch means u don’t need to care about those people on wat u look like or wat u care for peace out
I am American, and ALOT of your comments made no sense to me at all! First of all.. did you not see anything wrong with that lady quoting that they don’t allow “street looks.” I am offended by that comment! Corn-rows are a “protective” style for Blacks. My hair is curly/coily, so I can’t wear my hair free flowing like str8 haired people. Whether Caucasion or Black, if you have curly hair, it differs from everyone elses, and must be protected.
The individual who said Blacks with hair str8ners are out of character, also offended me, because there ARE in fact Blacks who have naturally str8 hair. should they get a perm, to get more in to character with the rest of us, curly/coily haired blacks? You also said what if a Native American wore a Mohawk…. what does that have to do with anything? Who should be able to wear a mohawk? That was just dumb!
I don’t see anything wrong with her wearing the braids, but the rest of you need to get a clue before you comment on certain issues!
Peace..
i think every culture taks ideas from different cultures like hair styles, most african americans get relaxers and its not like white people are like oh she’s black so she can’t have her hair straight like us, so i think were all product of assimilation
a hairdo is not indicitive of a particular race or culture. ignorant people tend to enforce ignorant rules. if this school was in bicinity of my school you would have people picketing for the closure of the school. society needs to able to live together without imposing strict rules that would prohibit a group from the same rights as anyone else.
r u sayin white girls should not have cornrows or white girls shouldn’t be critisized for having cornrows
I’m saying that a school shouldn’t discriminate based on race.
that is wrong so that school must be racist towards black people to, because they don’t want white people having the same hair style i am sure they don’t want white people dressing like them. I am black and my mom does white people hair in braids everyday. I think that black people do not mind living with white people and mixing with them, the only problem is white people will not except black people, well then if they do not except them why did they have to bring us from our home land. And I think there are some white people that get jelous when they see a black person with a nice car while they are on the sidewalk begging for money. If it weren’t for black people there wouldn’t r&b music there wouldn’t be such good dancinng there wouldn’t be soul jazz or rap or even the best comedy and acting. I think that there should be a day that we celebrate black people heritage. People don’t even get the day of on Martin Luther King day!!
Us black people have excepted white people holidays. I am thirteen years old but I have heard the word niger said more than my age. I expected that word to not be said where I live in Ontario Canada, thought this would be said more often in the western part of the United States. I herd on the news about a 64 yearold black man being beatin to the ground by three white officers. It was so sad, but all they did was suspend the officers and charge them for assult. Huh I wonder what they would do if it was a white man being betin the same way by three black officers. They would be sentenced to DEATH!!
My dad was just called niger last night what do you have to say about that.
I am a 38 yr. old caucasian woman with braids and I feel that anyone has the right to wear their hair any way they choose even if it is braids. I think they are beautiful and not for just the black race.
This has got to be the dumbest thing i have ever heard. There is no way this could ever happen in the USA. You people are caveman. You would be lost in our country. We are too fast and up-to-date for old-fashioned pricks like the people of the UK. This is probaly the reason why your yonger population is moving to the USA. Everyone has the right to “freedom of expression”.
I am black and i dont giv a crap
Cornrows only work for black people hair. Gettin’ cornrows mean u want 2 B black!{If u white!)
i am nigerian and raised in Florida, America. for those who say that this doesnt happen in america is wrong. it happened in my catholic high school when a white boy had his hair braided, the principal came into the lunch room and took him to her office to take it out.
briads are a black culture, it defines us. maybe thats why some whites don’t want other whites wearing it (just like they don’t like the hip hop or other things that define black culture.)they don’t want their people to be “tainted” . Well, most of black culture is beautiful and people (black or white or inbetween) always want beautiful things. I feel that some of those headmasters , if they had a choice, will ban cornrows(”street” hairstyle) for all, but they don’t want to be called a racist. i feel that some whites think “just do you, but don’t influence our children to be like you”.
But they don’t know how much “they” influence black kids. but you don’t see us complaining. we blacks straighten our hairs, add on weave, bleach our skin to be lighter. Do you know how many black kids that i babysat for tell me that they wish they were white and blond, that they are too dark so they dont want to play in the sun, they don’t want the black doll they want the white one? everyone of them
maybe the ban should go the other way.
We are all People of GOD so it shouldn’t matter how People choose to style their hair. But we live in a world that think we must be like this and be like that. Everybody have they own way of doing things. If everybody stop Hatin on everybody and judging people, This world could be a better place.
lol! first its white kids with afros and asians wit cornrows lol! its stupid whats next white latinos using chopsticks lol!!!!!
That is a pretty messed up story. But I will say, that as an private institution, they have the right not to let her have her hair like that. If they don’t, though, then they cannot morally let the other girls do their hair like that. They can have whatever policies they want at the school as long as they’re equally enforced. The fact that they let some people do it would make for a very hard thing to explain.
I’m a white male and right now I have my hair in braids. I don’t understand what the problem is.
lol as i sit here braiding my hair into cornrows i think of the stupidity of that rule, but hten again i almost got kicked out of a uniform school for having green hair, by the way, i’m a sixteen year old white girl, who loves to miss with her hair, i know that people have strong opinions on this, but why does it matter, anyone can look good in any hairstyle, if they like it
~ wild child~
hiya i am white and i dnt think that there is any problem whith us whites avin our hair like black people …After all its our country no offence to any1 hoo is blak!!!!! but i jus fink it is wrong that black people has a problem with us wearing our hair how we want
that is just crazy there is nuthing rong wiyh crn rows at all i used to wear them all the time when my hair was long and i am white now that my hair is short i learned how to do them and put the in other peoples hair if u think u look good it dont matter i think that school is going a little far just because u have a different hair style dont men your any less smart
Im white and got my hair put in cornrows last week when i was on CoCo Cay. Not only do they look great on me im being told i look like Bo Darek at work. There all older then I and have nothing but good things to say about my hair. If my kid was sent home due to having her hair done in this way id be so pissed off. Who are they to tell me how my kid can wear her hair. This school should watch out i think they have step on the wrong toes. come on her hair i can see maybe her dress is short ext. but hair get a life.
I think that that headteacher is one racist ass bitch cus cornrows are 4 everyone, not just black ppl. Besides it’s not like she’d suspend a black girl from school for straightening her hair. Besides im a 14 yr white girl and im getting cornrows this weekend. Who gives a shit about someone’s hairstyle anyway?
“By the way, wasn’t Bo Derek (who’s white) in the movie ‘10′ really responsible for popularizing cornrows in the Western world?”
No, the current trend didnt get underway until the mid-90’s. Besides, where do you think Bo Derek got the idea from? I love to dabble in all cultures but I get credit where credit it due.
That would be my only pet peeve, dont claims something as your own. When don something from another culture show respect and give props.
Keep rocking those conrolls gurl, no matter what people say!!!
I am a 15 yr. old black male, by the way. No it was NOT Bo Derek. Braids dates back to the Ancient days in Africa and extends to America. Slave women used to braid their little girl’s hair, in different styles too. Braids had already been established. I believe that braids can be for everyone, it is a beautiful hairstyle.
I think its thej persons chiooce not hte stupid schools!!!!!! ur girl Sha to the Shaniqua…there a kid at my schoool whose white with braids and he looks stupid that hte persons choice with hte hair!!!
Your right I want to have the my hair like that and I love it and want to learn how to do it. I was raised in the inner city as a young white girl and was taken care of by my black nieghbors better than my own mother, One woman took me in every day before school ever day and took care of me so I would look good for school. Some thing I will never forget. I was raised by the wonderful people who took care of me until my grandparents took me aways from my mother and gave me another life. I don’t think there is anything wrong with me wanting to have my hair like that and I am proud to walk aroung looking like that. Now I want to learn how to do it for myself.
Must be I and a white wanna by black, Nothing wrong with that is there???
Anyone should be able to wear thier hair how they want. Braids are Not just for black people. The Celtic peoples in brittan (Im really sad that as an American I have to remind Brits of all people of this but here goes) wore thier hair in braids. In MANY differant styles. Yes, even in a style similar to “corn-rows”. Braid are a common style of hair through out the world by ancient peoples. Come on people get a clue. To claim a hair style belongs only to one culture is just showing lack of education.
First I am a black male, and I have two daughters. I don’t allow them to wear corn-rows for basically the same reasons as the school head. I don’t want them to practice “group think” or faddish behavior. In addition I feel it perpetuates stereotypes. I don’t want my children to spend their lives trying to fit in the “in-crowd” by following every new fad that comes along. I understand the need for uniforms rules and structure to remove any chance of the latest fad from being the focus in a place where learning should be. My only criticism is that the darker skinned kids should not be allowed to wear them also. The rule should be that ALL students are required to wear a conservative hair-style that can be worn with their particular grade of hair with final approval left up to the school. This is an educational establishment with rules and standards that are set and established before the students arrive not based on isolating a particular student after they arrive. How is that different from someone arriving in the USA with their own beliefs of how things should be done although they differ from laws, rules, or standards that already are here? We’d all be screaming go back to wherever. I think most of the opinions here are an indication of what the real problem is. We are teaching our kids they don’t have to follow the rules; the world has to conform to them not the other way around. It’s the same self indulgent attitude that has cause a decline in society in so many ways. What happened to accountability and respect for rules and laws? If I didn’t like the rules of the school I wouldn’t go there!
to the black lass who said, white ppl with cornrow want 2 b black, we dont!!! i had them when a was 6 its not about been black it not having to mess about doing ur hair hair every morning, and does that mean that white ppl with cornrow want to be black and black ppl who have straight hair want white, i dont think so
to the lass who said, white ppl with cornrow want 2 b black, we dont!!! i had them when a was 6 its not about been black it not having to mess about doing ur hair hair every morning, and does that mean that white ppl with cornrow want to be black and black ppl who have straight hair want to be white, i dont think so !!!
Down herre in eastern ky da white folks are treated jus like us black folks, we all kept down
most white people herre live like black folk….and yeah…most white people herre have dreadlocks or cornrows…the people herre are poor, im black and im trapped in a white ghetto the white people that live herre cant afford haircuts so they row it up or lock it up…
most white men herre date black girls so the mixed race of this little town is increasing.
that means more white folks wearing cornrows.
YEAH THATS THE WAY MY HOME TOWN IS…
Well it’s great to know theres a school so great that the big issue there is a little girl’s hairstyle. Gosh, not one student must have a failing grade in any subject for this head to be so preoccupied with such a menial and unsubstantial issue. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary one of the definitions of discrimination is as follows “the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently” with the differing stimuli being the children with cultural and ethnic backgrounds and those who do not possess these traits, as defined by the school authority, and since these two differing stimuli are being treated differently the head’s statement of “If we didn’t allow some leeway for their cultural and ethnic background I think it would probably be discriminatory.” is inherently contradictory. Somehow I think that if the head of this school can’t avoid sending out a public statement that is so obviously contradictory this school may have bigger problems than how this child wears her hair. If I were to take a guess at what these problems could be I would predeict one problem, if not a plethora of them, is the head being a dumb stubborn Cunt. Fu(k that Bitch Knuck if you Buck.
This is in response to David’s post. First of all the issue here is the fact that kids are being treated differently under double standards not that cornrows perpetuate any stereotype. If one child is allowed to do something then every other child in that school should have the same right. And I’m not attacking your parenting skills but I question wether or not its a good idea to limit your children’s hairstyles, which can be a great source of individuality and pride, because of the perceived stereotypes, which I admit there are unfortunately, because it’s not our hairstyle that defines us. I would suggest teaching your children about these stereotypes and having a discussion about them together as a family and let them make their own educated decision of wether they want to wear their hair in a style that, like many other hairstyles, people may have preconceptions about the person who wears it. It is unfortunate we live in a world where people express themselves or don’t express themselves out of fear of preconceived judgments from others but it is our reality. The only way to break down stereotypes is to educate and lead by example. I understand David’s concern for his children and his desire for them to be treated fairly but at a certain age it should be up to them to understand and decide wether or not to wear a hairstyle that could potentially receive unsolicited reactions.
First of all Meagan this isnt the “white man’s country”(no offense to white people) it actually was the Indians land before the whites took it over, it’s ashame that the same people(illegal)aliens that once owned this land,have to fight back to get on it.Give the people back their land.As for whites wearing braids,I don’t have a problem with it,I think everyone has a right to wear any hair style no matter the color of their skin.Me being a African American woman I don’t think people should wear a certain hairstyle based on their race.
motherr @#$%6 skin is damn skin!
so just because someone has lighter skin the hair has to be differnt! wtf , then they say it has to be allowed for black people? so then will black people not be allowed to wear their hair like white people?!!!!! theses people are racsist pigs! all humans are equal and man is man.Talk about being rascist there is a serious problem at hand here.
omg!!!!what is ya problem?????i thought racism was oveR!!!!!!!who cares how your hair is worn, its like saying only white people can wear jeans and black people can only wear shorts….what if the whites wanted to wear shorts????see…this is just ridiculous…..seriously guys….u need to wake up…every one is over racism…just over it!
I am french and black. And i dont give a hell. She looks good in them hell.