NaturallyCurly.com is incensed by dance teacher Amy Fernandes’ refusal to allow 4-year-old Amari Diaw to participate in her ballet dance recital along with the other children in her class who have been practicing for this exciting event. Fernandes requires the girls to pull back their hair into a bun. Amari’s mom’s put Amari’s very curly hair into cornrows and pulled it back into a bun. Fernandes, however, insisted that the braids be removed and that Amari’s hair be pulled back straight into a bun. This shows a clear lack of understanding about curly hair, which won’t pull straight without the use of chemicals or dangerous heating devices highly unsuitable for a child. Furthermore, the message Fernandes is imparting unto a highly impressionable 4-year-old-child is that she is unsuitable as she is, that she must change a fundamental part of her appearance and of her heritage, in order to fit in. Such an attitude is reprehensible, and Fernandes should be ashamed of herself, and should invite Amari to participate just the way she is.
