“Doesn’t she need ponytails or something?”: A Natural Hair Rant

notesonascandal:

Today at work…LORD TODAY! My co-worker’s 2.5yr old daughter (she’s in another classroom) came to our room with her fat, cute little chocolate self, her afro out, with a headband on it. You could tell her mama had just washed/conditioned it really good the night before (she had just taken down her 2wk old cornrowed style). She has tight 4A coils, just like mine. She was ADORBZ.

Our Education Coordinator (white woman) says to my co-worker “Now {name redacted}, don’t you think she needs some ponytails or something?”…right in front of me! I looked at her like she was crazy. I said “No she doesn’t. She has beautiful kinky-coily Black girl hair and her mom has done a great job with it. Her hair looks just like mine…do *I* need ponytails or something?” I get so tired of people either blatantly saying or insinuating that Black Girls’ hair needs to be “tamed”.

I ended up going to the Center Director about that. We work in a very culturally diverse center, with most of us being Women of Color. That Ed Coordinator has said a few things to me that could be construed as, at the least, culturally insensitive and at the most, racist or classist, since she is in a position of power (hiring/firing/accepting families into the program).

Get her & get her good. The last thing that baby needs (or anyone else for that matter) is her walking saying stupid shit about their hair. Ugh.