Family sees discrimination in school’s demand that boy cut his long hair

By News & Info On Mar 24, 2023 38

WHITEVILLE, N.C. — Administrators at a charter school in Columbus County are demanding a first-grade boy get his hair cut before students return from spring break.

Mia Chavis, the mother of 7-year-old Edward Chavis, told WRAL News her son’s long hair is part of their Lumbee Tribe and Native American heritage, and she refuses to cut it.

Edward attends Classical Charter Schools of America in Whiteville, North Carolina. The tuition-free charter school is one of four Classical Charter Schools of America in N.C. The other locations are in Leland, Southport and Wilmington.

Edward’s mother has filed a grievance with the school’s board of education, but the grievance won’t be heard until the board meets in April.

Mia Chavis said Edward’s hair, which runs down his back, is part of his cultural and religious heritage as a Lumbee Indian.

Last year, Edward was able to wear his long hair in a braided pony tail or in a bun on top of his head. His mother said that compromise has changed, and dozens of other families are also being impacted.

“According to their rules … it’s still in compliance,” Mia Chavis said, noting that Edward’s braid and bun keep his hair off his collar and above his ears – the rules the school has set.

Chavis said she and other parents have been told the ponytail or bun is “faddish.”

Edward’s grandmother, Tami Jump said, “We normally braid our children’s hair when it grows longer because we believe that the braid shows strength, it shows character.”

Chavis said she’s talked to African-American parents who have also been asked to change their sons’ hairstyles.

WRAL News reached out to the Roger Bacon Academy, a Leland company that operates the Classical Charter Schools, for comment, but did not receive a response.

The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday released a written statement against the policy, suggesting that as a public charter school which receives federal funding, Classical Charter Schools of America appears to be violating the U.S. Constitution.

In the letter, the ACLU said Edward isn’t the first boy with Native American heritage to have this problem.

Ashley Lomboy, a member of the Waccamaw Sioian Tribe, was told by the Classical Charter Schools of America in Leland that her son Logan must cut his hair.

“Logan’s hair is an extension of who he is,” said Lomboy. “Without his hair, he will lose part of himself and a critical aspect of his heritage. Native Americans have been wearing their hair long since time immemorial.”

The ACLU claims the rule is discriminatory.

“At this point, it’s not even a Native thing,” Chavis said. “It’s a human rights thing.

“They have a pledge that they say every morning, and it’s even on the back of his shirt that he has to wear for PE every Thursday. The first line of that pledge is ‘I pledge to keep myself healthy in body, mind, and spirit.’ If I had to force him to cut his hair, it would be detrimental to his body, his mind and his spirit.”

This content was originally published here.