Posted Oct. 5, 2007 – A Detroit charter schools says one student's hairdo is definitely a don't and tells him to lose the Afro puff or don't come back. But the mother of Claudius Benson II says her son's school went too far, and she's suing.


Benson, 14, hasn't cut his hair in 10 years. Officials at his school, Old Redford Academy, say the ninth-grader was suspended because his hair is too long. The dress code requires "close-cropped" hair.

So why is his mom suing?

Alecha Benson says she follows the Old Testament passages that she interprets as prohibiting the cutting of her son's hair, and haircuts are against their religion. She is working with the ACLU to sue the school.

"We don't feel that we have to change our belief systems for my son to get an education," she said at an ACLU news conference Wednesday. "We have a right to chose to continue in the school that I enrolled him in. ... He's anxious to go back to school."

The school says it wants to confirm whether or not Claudius has a religious reason for his hairdo. He's been out of school now for nearly a month.
http://www.bet.com/News/NewsArticleClaudiusBensonHair.htm?wbc_purpose=Basi c&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished
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what do yall think?

:SuN024: if his hair has been growing for 10 years and thats all the hair he got... thats sad. and it should be cut.. its not up to the school to decide though..
i think shes pulling a fast one.. cause her son looks like his hair aint been braided in a while.. maybe the school orig. wanted him to just do something with that mess... i doubt he keeps it in such a neet puff when the cameras arent around cause he dosent have that much hair:qqb013:

i'm reading that the school has a dress code?so did the mother read this when she enrolled her son,i think she's trying to get paid.

:SuN024: if his hair has been growing for 10 years and thats all the hair he got... thats sad.

I was thinking the same thing, maybe they don't believe in conditioner/moisturizer either.

Listen to yall ... :nono: ... not everyone's hair grows at fast rates.

My Mother had short hair, and even after 10 years of growing her hair, she'd probably not have lots of it. We're just all not the same, so diverse.

One thing i thought about though, is that we don't see too many Sisters rock'n afro puffs these days. I actually put my hair into 2 afro puffs, after reading this thread, and was gonna post the pic ... but i look a hot mess ... so i didn't! :D

But anyway ... we make it easier for them to outlaw our very being, when we choose not to display it ourselves.

Who cares about a law / rule, that no one represents ?

If we really want it to be different, then we've got to represent.

Actually, here lately, i've been seeing more Brothers with a variety of natural hair styles, more so than Sisters.

Most Sisters are still on the long straight white pill.

:heart:

Destee

just be glad they want him to get rid of that girlie look

it's not cool man and never will be

i don't care if his has long hair

that's fine

it's the girlie puff

i have a problem with

so'ja! ha ha ha

Ain't no prob with the fro. My bro has been rockin a fro since, he was born! But the girlie puff, got to go fa realz! If you goin to do it, DO IT RIGHT!

But at the same rate, they dont have a problem with a white boys hair being in a pony tail, with a black trench coat on!!!!!!!!!!

Uh,Oh!

Did I go there???

DS