Discrimination against natural Black hairstyles continues to surface across the UK and the wider African and Caribbean diaspora, raising questions about the lingering influence of colonial-era grooming rules. In Britain, high-profile cases include Chikayzea Flanders, a 12-year-old who left a west London school after being told to cut off his dreadlocks, and Ruby Williams, who was repeatedly sent home from school because of her afro hairstyle.
The issue is not confined to the UK. In Jamaica, a mother said her teenage son was pulled from lessons because school staff deemed his afro hairstyle inappropriate. Michelle Scott said the dean of discipline told her the fifth-form student had been removed to get a haircut. The school denied the boy had been removed from class but said he had been spoken to about the “alleged infraction” under Jamaica’s grooming guidelines, which require hair to be “neat, clean and well-maintained at all times”.
Similar disputes have arisen in Trinidad and Tobago, where a student said he felt “embarrassed” after being prevented from graduating due to his hairstyle, and in the US, where Darryl George was suspended for his locs and Damon Landor is suing a Louisiana prison for forcibly cutting his locs. Schools in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda continue to require girls to cut their natural hair before enrolment, despite these countries having achieved independence from Britain.
Experts trace such attitudes to the transatlantic slave trade and colonial rule. Olivette Otele, professor of history of slavery and memory at the University of Bristol, said removing hair was a psychological tool used to show enslaved people that their cultural practices did not matter. During colonisation, European authorities imposed grooming rules that discouraged traditional African hairstyles, framing afro hair as “unprofessional” or “uncivilised”.
Verene Shepherd, professor emerita of social history at the University of the West Indies, said colonial attitudes continue to influence school policies, disproportionately affecting Black students. “Afro-textured hair and Black hairstyles have for a long time been regarded as problematic by some people,” she said, noting that locs, twists and other styles are often not accommodated because of a perceived need for uniformity. Shepherd added that many teachers may be unaware of the historical roots of such rules.
