Posts Tagged Institutionalized Racism

We Need to Fix Racism in Our Institutions, Not Black Hair

This month, we witnessed several instances in which black students were punished for wearing natural or black hairstyles to school. A Boston charter school gave multiple detentions to 15-year-old twin sisters who came to school with box braids, arguing that their hair extensions broke the school’s dress code. As punishment, the twins were pulled from their sports teams and banned from prom. In Florida, 17-year-old Jenesis Johnson was called to the assistant principal’s office and told that her afro was “extreme,” “faddish” and “needed to be fixed.”

This month, we witnessed several instances in which black students were punished for wearing natural or black hairstyles to school. A Boston charter school gave multiple detentions to 15-year-old ...