Children in Britain are being denied an education because of their natural hair. This World Afro Day, let’s change that

‘World Afro Day is a day created to give millions of people a focal point of pride, acceptance and liberation for their afro hair.’ Viola Davis on the red carpet at Cannes, 17 May 2023. Photograph: Luca Carlino/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

This autumn I’m about to start my final year of university. All being well, I’ll graduate soon with a BSc in management, and I’ll do so wearing my hair however I choose. That’s not something I thought I would be able say a few years ago. But now, I’m proud to have got my education back on track after years of fighting for the right to go to school while wearing my natural hair.

My battle began when I was 14, in 2016, when teachers first starting telling me my afro hair was “too big”. I was sent home, several times, and with my family behind me I decided to fight the school’s decision, supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). We eventually received a settlement, and in 2022 the EHRC issued groundbreaking new guidance to schools in the hope that no child would be discriminated against for having hair that’s associated with their race or ethnicity.