This week an African American mother received a note from her daughter’s teacher requesting she stop using coconut oil on her daughter’s hair.
The note, which read, “I understand the necessary (sic) of coconut oil on Amia’s hair, but please do not use as much. The children were complaining that her hair ‘stinks.’ If you have to apply this daily – please do so lightly, so the kids don’t tease her,” was not at all what the mother would have expected.
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As you can imagine, Tionna Norris, the girl’s mother, was not pleased with the letter. She took to Facebook to respond to the teacher and prove that she’s not going to alter her daughter’s hair routine just to satisfy some bullies.
“*applies the same amount of coconut oil* y’all gone feel that black girl magic. Sincerely, unapologetically black mom. P.s. Coconut oil has no stinky smell,” Norris wrote.
The post quickly went viral with thousands sharing her story and voicing their distaste for what they perceived to be the teacher’s audacity, according to CBS News.
“Can’t wait to get to the school tomorrow. Like so the kids were bullying my child so you send ME a letter???? How does that make sense. She needs oil for her hair,” Norris commented in a later post. “She’s literally the only black child in her class this is why I make it a point to keep her hair natural and tell her yes she’s different and it’s magical.”
According to CBS News, Norris has since met with the school where they were informed that none of her daughter’s classmates actually complained about Amia’s hair and that the complaint originated from the teacher. Posts by Norris indicated that they were told the teacher is being disciplined.
This article first appeared on Womanista.com
