As C.R.O.W.N. Act Day Approaches, a Local Family Reminds Us Why we Fight Hair Texture Bias.

In November, 2023, The Smith family of Harrisburg, PA filed a lawsuit against St. Margaret Mary Catholic School on Herr Street. After music class, a teacher cut 20 inches of hair from their 8 year-old daughter's head without ever reaching out to the family for permission or instruction. Like most schools in our region, St. Margaret Mary's staff is predominantly white, though their student population is diverse. The teacher claims the child wanted her hair cut because a velcro dot was stuck in it.

So, what's a white lady to do?

Hmmm...

• Could she have tried to give the child calm down strategies before making a rash decision?

• Could she have called someone from the office or a school counselor to help?

• Could she have sent the child to the nurse, then called the parent to assist with the velcro removal?
  

Nope. She picked up her priveledge, dismissed the child's culture, and cut 20 inches of hard work and toil off that child's head. I can hear the words of HairStory's 'Clean' in my mind right now:

They tore the tribe from my scalp/ My culture was ripped out by the root.

I can hear the wailing of my ancestors whose heads were shaven to strip them of their identity before ripping them from their native land forever.

Cast of HairStory: Reclaiming Our Crown performs "Clean" at Gamut Theatre, May, 2023.

OK, Poet, maybe you're too deep. Right. Maybe this teacher did not intend to stir up such strong ancestral memories. Maybe it was a clear moment of cultural incompentency - I'm reminded of HairStory's "Brandy With the Good Hair."

Red as a ripe apple, she tried to explain herself with a shovel that dug her deeper. I didn't mean to say that. I meant to call Brandy with the good hair.

Aleyah and the unnamed teacher watch while the 'Brandys" become "Baaad Brandys"

People who haven't had or haven't listened in cultural Diversity and Inclusion training (D&I) make all kinds of insensitive mistakes (aka microaggressions.) That brings my attention to the school. There's no D&I training for your staff? Your staff is primarily white, even though you have a diverse student body; are you not actively recruiting teachers of color? Why not?

Sadly, in most of the schools outside of the Harrisburg School District, the only black staff member is the janitor. And no, I'm not speaking of the past. I'm talking about what is going on right now all around Harrisburg. My children have only had a black teacher when they've been in my class during a summer camp or on "Bring Your Child to Work Day!"

So maybe you are dismissing my words because they are anecdotal. One black child violated and humiliated, her family distressed, her community up in arms, because one silly teacher was too tired, burnt out, stressed, or priveledged to consider the child's cultural norms before taking drastic action....Maria that happened just that time. Calm down.

If that's what you think, you haven't read the results of the 2021 Dove Crown Study, which found this:

• 53% of Black mothers say their daughters have experienced racial discrimination based on hairstyles as early as five years old

• 66% of Black children in majority-white schools have faced race-based hair discrimination

• 86% of those children have experienced it by the age of 12

• 90% of Black children stating that their hair is beautiful, 81% of Black children in majority-white schools say they sometimes wish their hair was straight

• 100% of Black elementary school girls in majority-white schools (who report experiencing hair discrimination) experienced discrimination by the age of 10

Hair texture bias and discrimination is a thing, and it is a thing right here in your community. What can we do? In efforts to bring awareness to this problem and to teach women and girls to radically love themselves for the way they were wonderfully made, I've created Hairstory: Reclaiming Our Crown. You can support this in multiple ways.

The Harrisburg Chapter of The Links invite the public to come see HairStory on CROWN ACT Day.

1. Talk to someone at your school, university, or organization about bringing us to perform HairStory on campus next school year.

2. Forward this to St. Margaret Mary's or the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, and strongly encourage them to bring the show and a diversity workshop by Reclaim Arts LLC to their staff. It costs less than a lawsuit.

3. Check out the HairStory Digital Study guide on www.ReclaimArts.com for detailed information on hair texture, black cultural traditions, hair positive toys and books for kids and more.

4. Get a ticket to see a live performance of HairStory at the IMAX theatre on C.R.O.W.N. Act day, June 3rd and bring someone with you. Take action here:
   

Get Tickets

How did you feel when you heard about what happened to the little Smith girl at St. Margaret Mary's School? As Aleyah says in HairStory, hit me in the comments.

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Maria the poet showing off a black hair hair clip

Maria James-Thiaw is an poet, playwright, and performer who has taught in higher ed and in the community for 20 years. Her choreopoems entertain while bringing awareness of social justice issues. She is the founder and CCO of Reclaim Arts LLC.