Teacher: 'Children were complaining that her hair stinks'

Hey Curlies,

I’ve gotten a few emails lately about a particular news story involving a little girl’s hair, the girl’s mother, and her teacher.

The original story was reported by a news station in Detroit. A child’s teacher sent home a note to the child’s mother saying the coconut oil smell coming from the girl’s hair was too strong, and that the child’s hair, “stinks.”

When I first heard about this, I wasn’t surprised. This has happened plenty of times before.

“The children were complaining that her hair ‘stinks,’” the letter reads. “If you have to apply this daily - please do so lightly, so the kid’s don’t tease her.”

Long story short, the mother of the 3-year-old called the teacher’s remarks,“Discriminative, stereotypical and racist,” according to a Huffington Post article. 

What do you think of the teacher’s request? Do you think it was an act of ignorance or racism? Do you think she was genuinely concerned for the child?