Update on Hair Biz

Turns out the dress code restricts "trendy" hair styles, defined as braids with beads and no unnatural hair dye. It also calls for boys' hair not to extend below their collars and to be out of their eyes. My son's locs meets this criteria exactly.

I shared that the other teacher(black) stated that his hair would have to be shaved to his head, even though I saw white and Latino boys whose hair was longer. I was speaking to the Asst Principal (non-black) who stated that she was unaware that this was policy, and that as far as she was concerned, his hair should not be a problem. And despite what the "other" teacher said, the only person to make that call was the Principal, who was still on bereavement leave.

It's hard to believe that even now, some of us are still living like crabs in a barrel.

So, I'm not going to stress over this anymore; I am not shaving his head, but I am willing to keep it at it's current length during the school year. If we are admitted into this school, my son will not be taught by the "other" teacher, so hopefully that will cut down on some possible backlash. The administration would have revealed to me an open minded attitude about diversity and all is well in our universe.

However, if the principal calls back and tells me that locs are not acceptable, regardless of length, then I know this is not a place we want to be anyway.

I'll let you know what we decide.

Great News!

I have great news from this weekend. My son joined our church, made his first confession of faith and is now a candidate for baptism!!!

All praises to God!

He surprised me too. We have been talking about baptism but he kept saying he was not ready and so, we had not spoken of it in a couple weeks. Imagine my surprise when members of the children's church came over to stand before the adult congregation and MY SON was among the group. I think everybody in the building heard my holla!!!

In other news, we have decided to loc his hair!! I had (still have) some reservations, mostly due possible peer pressure and how he will handle being outside of the norm at school. He's only 7 after all.

But here's our dilemma: he doesn't want to wear it cut low (neither do I); but when it gets this length, we struggle more with the brush and comb, which usually leads to arguments in the morning (neither of us likes this). He has made references about other people he knows who are loc'd and he likes the look of it. My hair is in twists 80% of the time and I notice he likes to play in my hair too. Anyway, we were snuggling Saturday night while watching a movie and I started playing in his hair. Before I knew it, the first row was twisted and we both liked what we saw. He wanted to do the whole head, and I talked him out of it.

We spent Sunday afternoon with family and I finally gave in to the pressure; his, my sister's and nieces/nephew.

So, after some trial and error, I finally decided to start his locs with braids. Now here comes the challenge. I need research and advice now on how to maintain them, especially after the loc'ing process begins. If anyone has any suggestions or knowledge to pass on, I'll gladly receive it.

So, here's my proud boy!