Utah Mom: School 'Racially Profiling' Teenage Daughter For Having Dreads

[big_dog]

Source: The Raw Story

The mother of a Utah teenager says her daughter is being “racially profiled’ for being white while wearing dreadlocks in a dress code dispute with her high school. Caycee Cunningham is an eighth grader at Lincoln Academy, a charter school in Pleasant Grove outside of Salt Lake City. She was reprimanded for wearing the hairstyle, but the teen and her mother say Cunningham wears them for religious reasons that have to do with her “spiritual journey” with the Hindu religion after studying abroad in Guatemala.

“My daughter is white and there’s other students in school who happen to be of other race and ethnicity and they have hair that can’t be combed, and there’s never been an issue regarding that before,” Caycee’s mother Tonya Judd said. “Not only have they been racially profiling my daughter because she happens to be a white girl with dreadlocks, but it’s also taking away the rights of my daughter’s religious beliefs and her spiritual journey.”

Caycee says the hairstyle represents her “turning over a new leaf” and trying to find herself. Dreadlocks are not specifically banned but the school dress code doesn’t allow distracting hairstyles or unnatural hair colors. The principal, Jake Hunt, said Caycee is not in trouble but says he hopes to talk to her mother to work something out. “Our dress code says that our students’ hair must have a neat, combed appearance, be appropriate for school, and not be distracting in the classroom, which is pretty similar to what many schools in our area have,” he told the station.

But Caycee said she is willing to change schools, but not her hair. “I think they could be a little more accepting of it, and I think they should, because we do live in America and it just kind of boggles my mind a little bit,” she said.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/utah-mom-says-school-racially-profiled-her-teenage-daughter-for-being-white-and-having-dreadlocks/

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[Angry Dragon]

1. the only way hair should be a problem with learning is if hangs over the eyes

[Bounzer]

3. Religious reasons?

Odd.

[Wellstone ruled]

4. You live in Utah,

get use to it. Not going to change.

[7962]

5. I'd be hard pressed to THOSE "dreadlocks"

[NV Whino]

6. Okay, I'm having a little trouble with this phrase

for religious reasons that have to do with her “spiritual journey” with the Hindu religion after studying abroad in Guatemala.

I mean there are all sorts of religions all over the world, but did she go to Guatemala to study the Hindu religion? Did she just happen to discover it there. India, I understand, but Guatemala? And what does that have to do with (Caucasian) so called dreadlocks?

[Dustlawyer]

7. Either way they are old news to the other students in about 5 minutes.

The only distraction is the administration making an issue about it. This should be one of those things that this girl would look back on her pictures 20 years from now and laugh about.

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. You are violating the four paragraph rule and violating Raw Story's copyright

You don't get to combine paragraphs in order to post the whole story. This is a severe and knowing violation of DU's copyright policy, and I don't know why you keep doing this over and over again, and why the hosts of this forum aren't stopping you. You are putting this site and its owners in legal jeopardy. What is wrong with you?

[tammywammy]

9. copyright alerts go to the admins

Be sure to alert, especially if this is repeated behavior.

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. It is repeated behavior

The OP combines multiple paragraphs as they appear in the linked source into a single paragraph, then calls that one of the four. In this way, the OP posts the entire article, an obvious and intentional (the paragraphs don't combine themselves!) violation of the spirit and letter of DU's copyright policy.

Compare the linked article to the OP. Then look at this one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141211356

And this one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141211390

And this one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1206116

etc.

Same OP, same tactic, clear violation. I don't know why the OP keeps doing this. But there it is.

[tammywammy]

11. Alert every time

You could also post it in ATA.

Really not cool behavior.

[Person 2713]

12. When I finally saw the photo I thought that's it? This is the hair that will cause

distraction in school? Wth?

[Ilsa]

13. My understanding is that it will be difficult to

Change her hair to conform. Wouldn't it be almost impossible to comb out without a lot of breakage?

[Codeine]

14. White dreads smell awful. nt