An 8-year-old Black student in the U.K. has been denied from two educational institutions because of his hair.
Bonnie Miller has been in search of schools for her son, Farouk, because two have refused him because of his long hair, reports CBS.
One of those schools is the London Oratory School which her older son, who is 23, once attended. Ten years ago, Miller's older son was told that his hair was too short to attend the school.
"His hair was cut too short and he got in trouble three times and nearly excluded from school for having it too short, to the point where I actually went to the shoe shop and bought some boot polish," Miller said.
The mother of two thought the school's policies may have changed by now, but she is being hit with the harsh reality that the long-standing rules haven't been changed at all. Her reasoning for keeping Farouk's hair long is cultural: Farouk's father is Ghanaian, and both parents came to an agreement not to cut his hair until he was 3 years old. By that time, Miller grew attached to her youngest son's hair and decided not to cut it.
The second school Farouk was denied admittance to is 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," a policy from Fulham Boys School read according to
Good Morning America.
"The maximum hair length is above the collar and the minimum hair length is a number 2 cut. Hair must be one natural colour. 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. The school reserves the right to insist on re-styling if it considers the style inappropriate."
Miller insists that her son's denial from the schools and their refusal to adjust the rules to accept students of all races and cultures are discriminatory.
"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. It's a racial issue," Miller said.
The mother is vowing to fight for the good of Farouk and others who may be experiencing a similar situation, even if Farouk's admittance into the prominent schools is at risk.
"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. I'm willing to take the risk because it's not just for the good of Farouk, it's the good of all," Miller said.
So far, Miller has not been able to find any schools for Farouk to attend. However, she has started a Change.org petition to ban natural hair discrimination in the U.K., is lobbying the houses of parliament and is asking the educational secretary to petition schools on her behalf.
"We're getting a real team together and calling it the Mane Generation," Miller said. "We're going to fight this until these rules get changed. And it's globally, not just domestically in the U.K."
The fight for natural hair equality continues on the home front and abroad.
Earlier in January, DeAndre Arnold and his cousin were both suspended from Barbers Hill High School over their locs. Arnold was also told that he wouldn't be able to graduate, as Blavity previously reported.
