Why Natural Hair in the Classroom Is Still a Conversation We Need to Have

Why Natural Hair in the Classroom Is Still a Conversation We Need to Have

SaySomethingSweet.org | Culture & Belonging

In 2019, the CROWN Act was introduced in the United States to protect people from race-based hair discrimination in schools and workplaces. The fact that this legislation was necessary tells you everything you need to know about the problem.

Natural hair, meaning the hair that grows from the heads of many Black people in its unaltered state, has been treated as a problem in American institutions for generations. In schools, this plays out in ways that are sometimes overt and sometimes subtle, but almost always harmful to the children on the receiving end.

Perri's Pencil Problem sits right in the middle of this conversation. And it is a conversation we still very much need to have.

What Actually Happens in Schools

The incidents vary. Some children are told their natural hair is distracting or not within dress code. Some are touched without permission, repeatedly, by classmates and sometimes by teachers who see their hair as an object of fascination. Some are laughed at. Some sit quietly through comments that frame their hair as unusual or exotic while everyone else just moves on with their day.

What connects all of these experiences is that the child is made to feel like something about them is wrong. Not just their hair. Them.

The Psychology Behind It

Hair is not trivial. For Black women and girls, in particular, hair carries enormous cultural, historical, and personal meaning. It is connected to identity, community, heritage, and self-expression. When a child is made to feel ashamed of their hair, they are being made to feel ashamed of something deeply tied to who they are.

Studies on Black girls in schools show that negative experiences related to appearance, including hair, contribute to lower self-esteem and a diminished sense of belonging. These outcomes are not separate from academic performance. Children who do not feel safe and valued at school do not learn as well. It is that simple.

The Role of Adults

Children cannot fix this on their own. Adults, whether they are parents, teachers, administrators, or school counselors, need to be part of the solution.

For teachers, this means actively setting norms of respect in the classroom. It means responding when a child's hair is commented on or touched. It means not treating Black children's hair as a subject for curiosity or discussion without their invitation. It means examining whether your school's dress code or policy has embedded biases that target natural hair.

For parents and caregivers of children who are not Black, it means having a direct conversation with your child about why touching someone's hair without permission is not okay, and why comments about someone's appearance that center on their racial characteristics are harmful even when meant as compliments.

What We Want Children to Know

We want every child to understand that natural Black hair is not a novelty. It is not a texture experiment. It is not a pencil holder. It is a part of a person.

And every person deserves to show up in a classroom, a workplace, a neighborhood, feeling that all of themselves is welcome.

Books like Perri's Pencil Problem help carry that message to the youngest readers, the ones who are still forming their understanding of what it means to be seen and respected. The conversation starts there.

Where to Go From Here

If you are a parent: affirm your child's hair consistently and specifically. Tell them it is beautiful. Learn how to care for it in ways that celebrate rather than minimize it. And if something happens at school, take it seriously.

If you are an educator: bring diverse books into your classroom. Review your policies. Create a culture where all students are taught, from the start, to treat each other's differences with respect and curiosity rather than commentary.

If you are a community member: support legislation like the CROWN Act. Speak up when you see children being treated poorly because of how they look.

The conversation about natural hair in schools is really a conversation about dignity. And every child deserves to have theirs protected.