Schools around the world have different rules for their students. They vary depending on a number of factors, but many parents feel that there are some rules that need to be done away with. They aren't trying to balk at tradition. Rather, they're trying to focus on more important things than policies they believe to be outdated. Bonnie Miller was one of the mom's fighting against such policies in 2020.
Bonnie is mom to 8-year-old Farouk James. Her little guy has become an Instagram superstar, with over 270,000 followers. On display is his favorite feature, his long, natural hair. Bonnie was researching possible schools for her son and discovered that many of them have policies regarding boys' hair length.
More from LittleThings: Woman Says Angry Mom Confronted Her Over 'Inappropriate' Bikini At The Beach
Bonnie is standing up and speaking out against these policies. Not only is it more common for little boys to have long hair nowadays, but it's also a policy that's unfair toward minority students.
This story first appeared on LittleThings in January 2020.
Bonnie Miller is set on making change. She's the mother of 8-year-old Farouk James. The little boy has gained quite a following on Instagram for pictures of him enjoying life with his big, natural hair. His unique look has allowed him to star in fashion shows and campaigns.
"His father's from Ghana so culturally, his family told me not to cut it until he was three," Bonnie explained. "Well, that was part of the cultural thing, so I agreed to not cut his hair until he's three. But obviously we didn't expect it would grow as much as it did and it just kept on growing."
Bonnie has been researching potential schools for her son. In her research, she's found that a lot of schools have policies against boys having hair beyond a certain length. This is the policy at her top choice, the Fulham Boys School in London.
"Hairstyles should be tidy and of a conventional nature, no extreme haircuts including sculpting, shaving, dreadlocks, or braiding are allowed," the Fulham Boys School policy reads. "The maximum hair length is above the collar and the minimum hair length is a number 2 cut. Hair must be one natural color."
"Parents are strongly advised to seek advice on the acceptability of hairstyles that may be considered 'different' before allowing their son to adopt such a style," it continues. "School reserves the right to insist on re-styling if it considers the style inappropriate."
The school came under fire for the policy in 2017, when Chikayzea Flanders was told his dreadlocks had to be cut off or he would face suspension. While the school offered a compromise, saying he could keep his dreadlocks if they were tied up or covered with an approved cloth, he has since left the school.
The headmaster of the Fulham Boys School denied the policy was racist. He commented to one ITV reporter that the policy was so that boys wouldn't know who were "the ‘haves’ & ‘haves not.’" He later corrected the comment on Twitter.
Bonnie believes that the policy is unfair, particularly to boys of diverse backgrounds. "It's a racial issue," she stated to Good Morning America.
"We all know what kind of boys would have dreadlocks and braids. Generally, it's black boys or mixed boys. We're not talking about Caucasian children here … it's very unlikely."
Bonnie has decided to speak out despite the fact that she knows she'll receive criticism for it.
"I'm going to talk up, and I might get backlash or I may even be risking my child's chance of even going to these schools now because now they know my name," she noted. "I'm willing to take the risk because it's not just for the good of Farouk, it's the good of all."
Natural hair discrimination is a very real problem, both in the UK and the US. Most recently, New York and California passed laws that ban discrimination against people with natural hair textures. There are people in the UK working hard at bringing similar laws there.
In 2018, Zina Alfa started a Change.org petition calling for the UK to ban hair discrimination. The petition amassed over 75,000 signatures. She created the petition after she was forced to take her own hair out of braids by a disapproving teacher.
"Natural and protective hairstyles including afros, braids, and dreadlocks are traditional ways to express our heritage and simply have our hair," the petition reads.
"It is because this is not understood, that young children are subjected to being punished by teachers or bullied by peers. When we're not attacked, we also experienced people that see our hair, touch it, and grab it without permission — making us uncomfortable."
Bonnie has also set up her own petition to send to the Houses of Parliament. It's gotten over 3,000 signatures so far. She explains her situation and the larger ramifications of these policies. She concludes, "If you agree that rules for females universally should be the same for males, please sign this petition and help make a change for the current and future generations."
"I think the only way it's going to change is if the Houses of Parliament change the law to prohibit schools from making such diabolical policies, which are clearly discriminatory, sexist, racist and unfair," Bonnie explained.
"I think everyone needs to change their rules, and I think that the way I was thinking it could be done and is if the law was changed that schools are prohibited from allowing these rules."
There's still another two years before Farouk needs to change schools, but Bonnie is concerned he'll be kept from opportunities because of his hair. To lose it would be losing part of his identity.
"Farouk is very academic and very bright, so he needs to go to a school that can stretch him, and a lot of his friends will be going to these schools," she noted.
