Celebrities express their disgrace after an 11-year-old girl is pulled out of class for braided hair

A video of an 11-year-old student crying after being pulled out of class for wearing braided hair extensions to a Louisiana school has sparked outrage.

The clip shows Faith, who is the niece of music artist and Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star Vanity Tokyo, absolutely distraught as she’s reprimanded for her look on the first day back at Christ The King Parish School in Gretna on Monday. She has attended the school for two years,

Her brother Steven Fennidy shared the clip on his Facebook page, noting that wearing extensions in her hair was nothing new for Faith or the school. 

However, the problem arose when the private school changed the policy over the summer break.

‘I hate that I have to post this. But this just isn’t right. This is an issue we tried to resolve with the school, but they won’t compromise at all. My sister Faith and many little black girls wear extensions,’ he captioned the video which shows the family walking out of the school building with the visibly upset student. 

‘She’s been attending this school for two years and wearing extensions. Over the summer the school has sneakily added in a policy, that no extensions, clip-ins or weaves are allowed.’

Fennidy noted that the school is just one of many that are quick to make decisions, likely without consulting students and parents how it may affect them.

In this case, he mentioned that the protective hair style is especially important to his younger sibling so she doesn’t have as difficult a time caring for her hair after using the swimming pool.

Chlorinated water strips the hair of its natural oils but twists knots and braids, among other things, can help prevent absorption of the bacteria-killing chemical.

A video of an 11-year-old student crying after being pulled out of class for wearing braided hair extensions to school is going viral today

The clip shows Faith, who had been attending Christ The King Parish School in Gretna, Louisiana for two years, absolutely distraught as she's reprimanded for her look

The clip shows Faith, who had been attending Christ The King Parish School in Gretna, Louisiana for two years, absolutely distraught as she's reprimanded for her look

The clip shows Faith, who had been attending Christ The King Parish School in Gretna, Louisiana for two years, absolutely distraught as she’s reprimanded for her look

‘Faith got a notice on the first day of class and it’s ridiculous that these schools that we are PAYING for, will go in and make policies without consulting or trying to figure out how this will affect your life or your child’s life,’ he continued in the post.

‘Extensions make the hair easier to maintain. It allows my sister to have access to the swimming pool without having to get her hair Re-done every night. How do you make a policy without even having a discussion.’ 

When speaking about the response Principal Dawn Castillo gave the family, he compared her concern to how hair was not an issue when he was a high school student. 

Fennidy mentioned that Faith's protective hair style is especially important to his younger sibling so she doesn't have as difficult a time caring for her hair after using the swimming pool

Fennidy mentioned that Faith's protective hair style is especially important to his younger sibling so she doesn't have as difficult a time caring for her hair after using the swimming pool

Fennidy mentioned that the protective hair style is especially important to his younger sibling so she doesn’t have as difficult a time caring for her hair after using the swimming pool

Faith's parents are reported to be filing a lawsuit for discrimination against the school

Faith’s parents are reported to be filing a lawsuit for discrimination against the school

Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star, Vanity Tokyo, and says her niece was ‘humiliated’

Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star, Vanity Tokyo, and says her niece was ‘humiliated’

‘It’s because you don’t care and it’s just one more barrier to entry for black people. This decision is going to affect black children more than white children,’ he added, urging people to share the video.

‘All the principal could say was, ‘They’re swinging it and things like that…’ My entire middle and high school career I was in private school I sat behind a million white girls who would play in their hair. Re-do their pony tails a million times a day. Nothing was ever said.

‘She kept saying the issue is it’s not their natural hair. It’s a style that we are not allowing. It’s not uniform. WOW. This is Christ The King Middle School in Gretna, Louisiana. This has all just been very upsetting.’

He’s not the only one who believes the way the situation was handled was without consideration for black lives. 

Well-known names have helped spread the word via their social media accounts. 

Faith’s aunt Tokyo took to Instagram to say that her niece was ‘humiliated’, prompting rapper, T.I. to share the post with his approximately 8 million followers.

Asking whether the school generally had an issue with black people’s hair, the star – whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. – encouraged girls in a similar position to recognize their beauty and ‘DONT LET THEM WIN!!!’

Faith's brother said the entire ordeal with the school had been very upsetting for his family 

Faith’s brother said the entire ordeal with the school had been very upsetting for his family 

Vanity Tokyo shared the video with her one million followers on Instagram

Vanity Tokyo shared the video with her one million followers on Instagram

Shaun King, co-founder of Real Justice, an organisation ‘working to elect reform-minded prosecutors who are committed to using the powers of their office to fight structural racism’ encouraged people to fight back by posting the school’s number and email address on his Twitter account, which has approximately 1 million followers.

He labelled it ‘Christianity as White Supremacy’ and called the attack on the child’s self-esteem the ‘New Jim Crow’.

The parent/student handbook for 2018-2019, says that ‘Hair (including cuts, colors, and styles) should not interfere with the learning process or values being upheld at Christ the King School’.

T.I. shared the post with his approximately 8 million followers, asking whether the school generally had an issue with black people’s hair

T.I. shared the post with his approximately 8 million followers, asking whether the school generally had an issue with black people’s hair

T.I. ttold girls in a similar position  ‘DONT LET THEM WIN!!!’

T.I. told girls in a similar position to recognize their beauty and ‘DONT LET THEM WIN!!!’

Shaun King, co-founder of Real Justice, an organisation ‘working to elect reform-minded prosecutors’ called it 'Christianity as White Supremacy'

Shaun King, co-founder of Real Justice, an organisation ‘working to elect reform-minded prosecutors’ called it ‘Christianity as White Supremacy’

King said the event was an attack on the child’s self-esteem and labelled it the ‘New Jim Crow’

King said the event was an attack on the child’s self-esteem and labelled it the ‘New Jim Crow’

Students are given a time (a discretion) to modify the style or are suspended until they comply. However, it’s believed Faith’s family opted to take her from the school on Monday after trying to reason got them nowhere. 

Archdiocese of New Orleans, RaeNell Houston, gave a statement saying: ‘The policy was communicated to all parents during the summer and again before the first day of school'

Archdiocese of New Orleans, RaeNell Houston, gave a statement saying: ‘The policy was communicated to all parents during the summer and again before the first day of school’

According to Eyewitness News, the Archdiocese of New Orleans, RaeNell Houston, gave a statement saying: ‘The policy was communicated to all parents during the summer and again before the first day of school, and was applied to all students.

‘Furthermore, the school leadership worked with families as needed to ensure compliance. We remain committed to being a welcoming school community that celebrates our unity and diversity.’

However, the publication reports Faith’s mother and father told them they had previously attended a parent-teacher meeting and received no complaints about the same hairstyle at the time.

The child’s parents are said to be meeting with an attorney to consider filing a discrimination lawsuit against the school.

Daily Mail was not able to get a response from Christ The King Parish School on Tuesday despite repeated calls to reach out for comment.

The school later removed the contents of their Facebook page. 

The parent/student handbook for 2018-2019, says that ‘Hair (including cuts, colors, and styles) should not interfere with the learning process or values being upheld at Christ the King'

The parent/student handbook for 2018-2019, says that ‘Hair (including cuts, colors, and styles) should not interfere with the learning process or values being upheld at Christ the King’

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