A Private School In Louisiana Sends A Black Girl Home For Having Extensions

CurlyNiquee

Well-Known Member
“I hate that I have to post this. But this just isn’t right. This is an issue we tried to resolve with the school, but they won’t compromise at all. My sister Faith and many little black girls wear extensions. She’s been attending this school for two years and wearing extensions. Over the summer the school has sneakily added in a policy, that no extensions, clip-ins or weaves are allowed. Faith got a notice on the first day of class and it’s ridiculous that these schools that we are PAYING for, will go in and make policies without consulting or trying to figure out how this will affect your life or your child’s life. Extensions make the hair easier to maintain. It allows my sister to have access to the swimming pool without having to get her hair Re-done every night. How do you make a policy without even having a discussion. It’s because you don’t care and it’s just one more barrier to entry for black people. This decision is going to affect black children more than white children. Please share this video. All the principal could say was, “They’re swinging it and things like that...” My entire middle and high school career I was in private school I sat behind a million white girls who would play in their hair. Re-do their pony tails a million times a day. Nothing was ever said. She kept saying the issue is it’s not their natural hair. It’s a style that we are not allowing. It’s not uniform. WOW. This is Christ The King Middle School in Gretna, Louisiana. This has all just been very upsetting.”

 

JudithO

Well-Known Member
I went to school in Nigeria - first boarding school we attended, we all had to shave our hair... second boarding... only cornrows allowed, no extensions, or grown up hair styles ..... you could get your hair shaved for not following the rules.

Were the parents told before this rules changed? Are white girls in this school also affected with the no clip-ins/extensions clause? If yes, then I'll let it go and remove the extensions... otherwise, take your money and go to another school..
 

Kanky

Well-Known Member
People have a weird obsession with black womens hair. (I realize that I’m writing this on a hair forum. Bear with me. :lol: ) There’s a strange obsession with making black girl’s hair acceptable or appropriate and it leads to all kinds of ridiculous rules like the ones about braid extensions. Braid extensions are age appropriate and convenient and there’s no good reason not to allow them but of course they can’t just leave well enough alone. They have to police her hair and let her know that it is only acceptable in certain ways.
 

nurseN98

Ayiti cherie
I agree it was sneaky how they just did it and notified parents first day of school. That was underhanded. But when you pay for private school, you are paying to be a part of THEIR system..not the other way around. The bottom line is you stay there and pay or you leave.

In the back of our minds we have to remember that these ppl are not trying to let us live and breathe and be comfortable in our own skin. I think the goal is for us to conform to what they think is acceptable.
 

smwrigh3

Well-Known Member
Threads like this make me so mad I cannot even articulate my thoughts.

Its so interesting hearing about boarding school and shaving girl's hair. I just always assumed it was a cultural thing (not a school thing). I wouldn't be ok with cutting my hair off and I def wouldn't be ok with a school official cutting off my hair for not following the rules. But I can respect different cultures have different rules.

Is this a Catholic school thing? Are the rules for the church the same for the school? Also, I think I found the school on facebook. If its the right, this might be something new because I didn't see any black girls or black women in any of the pictures. I did see 3 back boys and a black man/father.

The demographic is a mix of white, Asian and Latino; not surprising for a Catholic school I would assume.
 

Godsdaughter001

Well-Known Member
We weren't allowed extensions in boarding school. All black schools. Extensions a no. Some very popular schools evrn now insist on girls going into secondary to shave their hair. Reason: self esteem should not be tied to attachments.

The parents can go to another school.

To the bolded: I think your case is completely different because it seems that at your school you all knew that extensions weren't allowed from the beginning. This child apparently wore extensions last school year and all was fine. Now, all of a sudden, she can't wear hair extensions because of a "new" policy (that apparently, the parents were not made aware of) and is humiliated in front of her class for it. Racism in its purest form. The administrators enforcing this new rule were white. My heart aches for this little girl. How humiliating and what a blow to her self-esteem to be called out like that.

I went to school in Nigeria - first boarding school we attended, we all had to shave our hair... second boarding... only cornrows allowed, no extensions, or grown up hair styles ..... you could get your hair shaved for not following the rules.

Were the parents told before this rules changed? Are white girls in this school also affected with the no clip-ins/extensions clause? If yes, then I'll let it go and remove the extensions... otherwise, take your money and go to another school..

To the bolded, when it's a cultural thing, I totally get it. But it seems with this child, they are making up rules willy-nilly that affect black children and what THEY think black children should look like. I personally do not like hair extensions on little girls, but I would never seek to humiliate a child or seek out ways to stop them from wearing hair extensions. IMO, the little girl's hair in the video was neat and looked nice. She did not deserve being humiliated like that.
 

hothair

Well-Known Member
In the schools it wasn't cultural. Just rules. It was generally frowned upon to chemically process a child's hair, wear extensions or make up (gloss included). I know religious schools tend to emphasize that.


I think if its not something that was communicated to the parents before school started then its a problem. If not, rules are rules.

There is a post I saw on ig about a school refusing a little boy with dreadlocks. His hair was free form all over his head. Every school I have attended black and mixed would have refused him entry to classes unless he tied it up, or even shaved.

Parents should have options for schools and use them when it comes to things like these.
 

Makenzie

Well-Known Member
Nothing was wrong with her hair! Absolutely. Nothing!! Completely age appropriate and totally low maintenance. Poor thing to find out the first day of school there is a new policy. Schools send out notices beforehand as to what the children will need for the upcoming school year. Why wasn't this included BEFOREHAND? Yes, this is school policy, but why has the school changed the policy? They took no consideration of their current student attendees and how it would affect them. I can see placing a limit on length, color, or even having portions of your head shaved off. However, this is absolutely ridiculous. As someone mentioned earlier, how do they even know that's not her hair. It looks very natural.

Yes, in other cultures/countries it may be customary to shave a girls head, but that is not the custom over here. A young girl taking swimming finds it much easier to maintain her hair during that semester with some sort of added hair. And let's be real, extensions has the connotation of white woman getting clip ons of long flowy hair. What this child has is braids. Yeah, I get extensions covers that, but still.

The answer is not an easy 'just go to another school'. This child's education has been interrupted through no fault of her own or her parents. This was a deliberate tactic used by the school. She has consistently been in braids prior, and the school changed the policy and did not notify anyone until the first day of school. I bet the school notified the parents how much various fees were, and what supplies were needed FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Sorry this just made me really hot! Today is not the day.
 

dyh080

Well-Known Member
Rules are rules. Little girls ( and not most other women) need extensions anyhow. I would NEVER, EVER put extensions on a little girl. When she's an older teen and wants them ok. But while she is in the years forming her self esteem....IT'S A NOOOOOO.
 

dyh080

Well-Known Member
Nothing was wrong with her hair! Absolutely. Nothing!! Completely age appropriate and totally low maintenance. Poor thing to find out the first day of school there is a new policy. Schools send out notices beforehand as to what the children will need for the upcoming school year. Why wasn't this included BEFOREHAND? Yes, this is school policy, but why has the school changed the policy? They took no consideration of their current student attendees and how it would affect them. I can see placing a limit on length, color, or even having portions of your head shaved off. However, this is absolutely ridiculous. As someone mentioned earlier, how do they even know that's not her hair. It looks very natural.

Yes, in other cultures/countries it may be customary to shave a girls head, but that is not the custom over here. A young girl taking swimming finds it much easier to maintain her hair during that semester with some sort of added hair. And let's be real, extensions has the connotation of white woman getting clip ons of long flowy hair. What this child has is braids. Yeah, I get extensions covers that, but still.

The answer is not an easy 'just go to another school'. This child's education has been interrupted through no fault of her own or her parents. This was a deliberate tactic used by the school. She has consistently been in braids prior, and the school changed the policy and did not notify anyone until the first day of school. I bet the school notified the parents how much various fees were, and what supplies were needed FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Sorry this just made me really hot! Today is not the day.


1. Her education is not interrupted.....her attendance at that school is interrupted.
2. Rules are rules and yes can be changed.
3. It is her parents' fault. Teaching a little girl that she needs added fake hair bought in a store in order to look presentable, or go on vacation, or to go swimming , etc . is borderline child abuse.

The above is my opinion. We all have them and can disagree.
 

Makenzie

Well-Known Member
1. Her education is not interrupted.....her attendance at that school is interrupted.
2. Rules are rules and yes can be changed.
3. It is her parents' fault. Teaching a little girl that she needs added fake hair bought in a store in order to look presentable, or go on vacation, or to go swimming , etc . is borderline child abuse.

The above is my opinion. We all have them and can disagree.

I agree.
 

dyh080

Well-Known Member
Parents should not put extensions on little girls. It is demoralizing to the child although most have been conditioned to think it beautifies them. This is akin to child abuse.

In their formative years I can't understand teaching little Black girls that they are not good enough unless they have some fake attachment purchased (usually) from store owners who do not look like her.

Parents need to stop being lazy. DO YOUR CHILD'S hair, even if you have to do so every day.

Swimming, vacations, working late, all excuses.
 

HappilyLiberal

Well-Known Member
This school is part of the archdiocese of New Orleans. Her mother can get this resolved with one phone call to (1) the media and (2) the Archdiocesan Catholic schools office. They have spent the better part of the past four years getting all of the Catholic schools on the same page about school policies. Plus, they have been ticking off the black Catholic population. They do not want this headache. She'll be back in school--with her extensions--within three days!

Imma see if I can find the mom's contact info. If anyone has it please post.
 

HappilyLiberal

Well-Known Member
Parents should not put extensions on little girls. It is demoralizing to the child although most have been conditioned to think it beautifies them. This is akin to child abuse.

In their formative years I can't understand teaching little Black girls that they are not good enough unless they have some fake attachment purchased (usually) from store owners who do not look like her.

Parents need to stop being lazy. DO YOUR CHILD'S hair, even if you have to do so every day.

Swimming, vacations, working late, all excuses.


It 's not just a matter of style and convenience. Braids are a great protective style and can help her avoid all kinds of unnecessary damage.

Oh... about the racial make-up of the school... that school is in Gretna. Depending on which part of Gretna, she may live in Jefferson Parish. There are no all black schools over there--NONE! She'd have to drive into the city everyday to get an all black school.
 

dyh080

Well-Known Member
It 's not just a matter of style and convenience. Braids are a great protective style and can help her avoid all kinds of unnecessary damage.

Oh... about the racial make-up of the school... that school is in Gretna. Depending on which part of Gretna, she may live in Jefferson Parish. There are no all black schools over there--NONE! She'd have to drive into the city everyday to get an all black school.

A nice "protective style" for little girls is to braid their OWN hair...no extensions.
I must be too old but when I was growing up every little black girl in my school wore what we called plaits.
Some mothers plaited the hair every day, others less frequently. No fake crap hanging off of our heads. Most of us had nice thick hair as a result.
 

CurlyNiquee

Well-Known Member
I personally wouldn’t put extensions in my daughters hair. Just braid her own hair (hopefully it’s healthy and long enough) and invest in a good swimming cap. However I still think this is BS, for whom was this policy created? Clearly humiliating to that little girl and could have been handled differently.
 

HappilyLiberal

Well-Known Member
This school is part of the archdiocese of New Orleans. Her mother can get this resolved with one phone call to (1) the media and (2) the Archdiocesan Catholic schools office. They have spent the better part of the past four years getting all of the Catholic schools on the same page about school policies. Plus, they have been ticking off the black Catholic population. They do not want this headache. She'll be back in school--with her extensions--within three days!

Imma see if I can find the mom's contact info. If anyone has it please post.


OK... Maybe not. The black superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese has released a statement supporting the school. She has three choices... (1) sue the school and hope she wins, (2) take the braids out, or (3) move her child to a public school or private school that allows the extensions. I'd probably opt for #3 There are some very good pre-AP and IB Middle Years programs in the public schools in Jefferson parish.
 

HappilyLiberal

Well-Known Member
Oh... and this is the black superintendent of schools who co-signed this mess...

 

Cheleigh

Well-Known Member
If I had to guess, I think this girl got caught up in something that wasn't even her fault. I'd bet that last year some other kids' hair was off the chain and the school considered it distracting. My own daughter stuck a small pink clip-on in her hair for TK promotion, so I can only imagine. So they made a blanket rule and although her hair is perfectly fine, this is how blanket draconian rules work. They could just have made a rule that banned the more outrageous colors or ones of a certain length. If I were here parents, I'd find a new school.

And as an aside, we don't know that the girl was publicly humiliated. Maybe they called her into the office and told her that her hair now violated the rules. The brother was the one who put the sister on blast.
 

dicapr

Well-Known Member
A nice "protective style" for little girls is to braid their OWN hair...no extensions.
I must be too old but when I was growing up every little black girl in my school wore what we called plaits.
Some mothers plaited the hair every day, others less frequently. No fake crap hanging off of our heads. Most of us had nice thick hair as a result.

You are right. When I was growing up you hardly ever saw I child with extentions in their hair. We wore our own hair in plats, braids, puffs ect and it grew just fine. Extensions are used so the style last longer not because it is a necessity to grow or protect black hair. Growing up our hair was done on the regular basis (braided once a week) and freshened up mid week to keep us looking neat. Plats were done daily. Women don’t want/have the time for that now so they put extensions in their daughter’s hair.

I really don’t like the idea that black women need to wear hair other than our own. I don’t think the policy is unreasonable. I see so many young girls with heavy weave and their edges hanging on for dear life due to extensions I really hate to see them in young girls hair. My only issue is that parents were not given timely notice on the school policy change. Some parents had already spent good money on getting their child’s hair done for school and I can see the outrage in that.
 

nyeredzi

Well-Known Member
I don't think schools in nearly all black countries are a good comparison. The context is really different. It's not like the private schools in the US are going to make the white girls shave their heads. It'll just be the black girls who have no hair.

Extensions are functional for black girls and their hair when it comes to swimming. And places that don't like black people's hair probably don't like cornrows either.
 
Top