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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Nyima Jobe

‘Colonial mentality’: from the Caribbean to Kenya, Black people are challenging hair discrimination

A row of Black schoolboys show off their hairstyles outside a school building
Students from Trinity College, Moka, Trinidad and Tobago, including Bryce, show off their hairstyles after they were barred from participating in the main graduation ceremony in June 2023. Photograph: Dareece Polo/Trinidad & Tobago Guardian

Last month, a boy called Bryce from Trinidad was barred from his graduation ceremony because his hair did not meet the school’s definition of “neat and tidy”. The 17-year-old, who had a low afro, was one of more than 20 boys who were not allowed to collect their certificates on stage at Trinity College in Maraval.

“They put us on a bench far in the corner where our parents couldn’t even see us. They had to walk all the way in front of the stage to see us. It was really a bad experience for a very special day,” Bryce told a local newspaper.

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