Tag Archives: hairstyle

“[…] The official Ministry of Education press release announcing the hair code […] works to trivialise the issue and divorce it from its substantive context. “[….] An interview with former principal of Fatima Collage, Father Gregory Augustine two weeks after the press release illuminates the point. On 20 July he …

“[…] Some of our citizens, unfortunately, seem to hold the view that the natural hair type of students of African descent and their African ancestry/heritage and culture are not valid considerations in the crafting and implementation of school rules. “[…] It is refreshing that like in 1970, the heroes of …

Schools can no longer penalise students with “locs, twists, plaits, afros, cornrows, weaves or braids” thanks to a new “National School Hair Code”, which takes effect nationwide from the new academic year in September 2023. The decision was announced by the Ministry of Education (MOE) after “discussions with the Tobago …

“[…] I have stated before that the ‘Revolution’ that took place in 1970, in T&T, is an unfinished revolution. If we do not continue to educate and sensitise our younger generation on their self-worth then, unfortunately, history is inclined to repeat itself. “[…] How in Heaven’s name could a senior cleric …

The scale of natural justice weighs negatively against the Ministry of Education for allowing 2019 to end without unambiguously prohibiting discrimination against natural African hair texture and basic African hairstyles, and mandating school administrators to root out the practice whenever it rears its ugly head. Ultimately, it might necessitate amending …

“No one and no institution can please everyone, but all the bloodshed, genocide and ethnic violence due to both conscious and unconscious bias in the world should indicate to everyone with a sound mind, and especially to educators, that racism in any form, however subtle, needs to end. It must …

“At issue is the widespread, pernicious and fundamentally racist belief that the hair and hairstyles of African people are not suitable for formal settings and are intrinsically messy, unkempt, unhygienic and even disruptive. The insidious nature of this deeply ingrained idea encapsulated in the popular phrase ‘bad hair’ guarantees that …

It was a surprise and perhaps something of a mark of appreciation that Noble Philip reminded readers of what I said in 2000, while I was in the Senate, about the shameful conditions at the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital. Insightful commentator that he is, Noble Philip lamented our lack of …

Wha allyuh vex with St Stephen’s College for? I give them right, full marks for their stance. Was it backward and discriminatory? Yeah. Was it disrespectful and, frankly, based on old racist ideas of beauty, comportment and respectability? Of course, duh. They no doubt would justify it on the grounds …