News from the Plains: All this RED can make you BLUE
Hair Raising
by Barry Friedman
For the love of George Clinton ...
A father in Oklahoma said this week that he was forced to pull his daughter out of classes after the charter school she was attending sent her home for having the wrong hairstyle.
Terrance Parker told KOKI that he is a barber and he always made sure that his 7-year-old daughter, Tiana, had an appropriate haircut for school.
“She’s always presentable,” he explained. “I take pride in my kids looking nice.”
Well, sir, Deborah Brown Community School in Tulsa takes pride in its handbook, especially page
13.
Hairstyles such as dreadlocks, afros and other faddish styles are unacceptable. For safety reasons, girls weaved hair should be no longer than shoulder length. Boy’s hair is to be short and neatly trimmed. Boys are not allowed to wear earrings.
Faddish and
unacceptable? It's not like the 7-year-old was twerking during an assembly or, in this case, wearing a Rasta hat, rolling a fat one at recess, and letting the impressionable kids play with her dreads. Moreover, the school is
99% African American, so you'd think it wouldn't perpetuate lazy, cultural stereotypes, especially when the culture on which those stereotypes is based began in (Lewis Black delivery here)
Africa!
Dreadlocks have been a part of the history of every spiritual system. From Christianity to Hinduism, locked hair has been been a symbol of a highly spiritual person who is trying to come closer to God(s). If one is to research the spiritual history and meaning of locks, they will be mentioned in all holy books (the biblical Sampson wore his hair in dreadlocks, and his unsurpassed strength was lost when Delilah cut off his seven locks of hair) and cultures. Dreadlock's roots are commonly traced back to Hinduism and the God Shiva, but stops there. Meanwhile, most people recognize that dreadlocks have their origin in Africa, but nobody seems to know where, how or why! As with everything else, the true origins of dreadlocks can be found in Kemet (Africa)
A former board member of the school, Kurt English, of the Farmers Insurance Group, who's listed on the school's website as a board member,
said that like any privatized institution, it has a set of rules which parents can either accept or reject.
Except ...
No ...
The Deborah Brown Community School is a Tulsa-based charter school--not private--so it receives state funds. These funds may "flow through the school districts, colleges, universities or tribal governments that sponsor them" but the school's budget nonetheless comes from taxpayers, some of whom notice when school administrators make little girls in pink bows cry.
"Although direct legislative action is not an option of addressing the issue in the short term, school policies can be addressed, reviewed or changed," said state Rep. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, the vice chairman of the caucus.
No ...
“She went to the school last year and didn’t have any problems,” Terrance Parker pointed out.
And
what?
In 2005, the school drew the notice of its then-sponsor Tulsa Public Schools for spanking students for serious behavior infractions. The practice is allowed by state law but has been uncommon in public schools since the early 1990s.
("You're doing fine Oklahoma, Oklahoma OK")
Now back to our regularly scheduled program:
The school maintains everyone has to help it protect and promote a "respectful and serious atmosphere" towards education; so, moms, be mindful of the rogue nipple and the bouncy-bouncy of your breasts and, dads, tuck in those boxers and pull up your Rocawears.
We give you Page 5 ...
Understanding that parents will sometimes dress inappropriately, the following represents additional rules regarding parental dress. Female parents or guardians should refrain from dress styles that do not require the use of a brassiere (braless).
Other than actual nudity and the outfit used for colonoscopies and valve replacements, what styles
require that a bra not be worn?
Continuing ...
Of course, we cannot overemphasize the need for male parents or custodians to refrain from wearing trousers that sag. It is important to note that all adults should dress in an appropriate manner thus setting a fine example for students.
Of course we cannot overemphasize...? Sure you can. And you are. And you should stop.
If you want to set a fine example for students, show them how little hairstyle has to do with anything.