A Toronto District School Board Principal Suspends Student for Wearing Curls

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Erica Barton

Erica Barton is a 33-year-old mother of three, a freelance writer, and a natural hair enthusiast. As a young woman, Erica has had long, straight, pretty hair for as long as she can remember. This, she achieved through flat irons, pressing combs, and other methods that she later realized were only damaging her hair. She had to make a drastic decision – letting go of the heat. Erica did her BiG Chop in the year 2015 and has been enjoying her healthier, thicker, natural, and unadulterated hair for three years now. Erica enjoys the versatility of natural hair, and the fact that she can wear different looks on a daily basis makes her free to enjoy life and celebrate both her inner and outer beauty. She, however, warns that going natural is not a walk in the park. There are days you will feel frustrated and even wish to give up. That’s why she has taken it upon herself to help people who wish to go down this road by sharing her personal journey, challenges, and offering tips where necessary. According to Erica, every woman has a right to wear their hair on their own terms and not as dictated by society.

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The Toronto District School Board has been hitting the headlines for its worrying rate of student expulsion. The majority of the cases are tied to disciplinary issues, but not this time around. A school board principal removed a black female student from class, not for a disciplinary case, but for wearing natural hair. According to City News, the principal admonished the Grade 8 girl for tweaking her normally braided hairstyle into a natural style. The principal, who to everyone’s shock, turned out to be a black woman, told the girl’s mother that no one would hire the girl if she was looking for a job. And if she was a working in a store, no one would buy anything from her because her hair was ‘too poofy’ and ‘unprofessional.’

The 13-year-old eighth grader said that this was not the first time the principal was admonishing her for wearing her hair naturally. In an interview with City News, she admitted that the whole ordeal was confusing. She couldn’t understand why wearing her natural hair was such a big deal or why it was bothering the principal. It’s hard growing up in this world as a black girl, it’s almost always the little the things that shouldn’t matter to no one but you end up being the center of controversy.

Wearing Natural Hair with Pride

In her case, the 13-year-old black girl finds herself in trouble just because she chose to wear natural hair. Many people were surprised that the principal of Amesbury Middle School, who’s a black woman herself, would admonish a little girl for wearing her hair naturally with pride. According to the girl’s mother, the principal said that her hair should be pulled up, not be open in a natural kink. The fact that the principal is a black woman shows the depth of the problem. From a young age, young black girls are forced to conform to European beauty standards.

The principal’s frustration with this young black girl who chose to wear her hair naturally goes years back when she was a young woman herself. It must have been drilled in her that because she was black, she wasn’t beautiful. The young black girl with natural hair probably reminds her of herself at that age. Admonishing the little girl was seen to project her own childhood troubles as a black girl. Amesbury Middle School’s uniform policy doesn’t cover hair, so the students have the freedom to wear their hair how they want it. In this case, the principal’s actions against the student were totally unjustified.

Author: Erica Barton

“Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural.