Principal Carlotta Outley Brown of the Madison High School in Houston is probably one of the most disliked principals in that city right now. Her negative popularity comes after she drafted letters to parents with kids in her school giving then a new dress code, which some describe as racist and classist.
By the way, should her greatest concern be the performance of her students and just maybe their dress code. The dress code of the parents seems like something that should not be near her primary concerns.
Be that as it may, Brown drafted a letter that reads in part: “No one can enter the building or be on the school premises wearing a satin cap or bonnet on their head for any reason… You also cannot wear a shower cap of any kind in the building.”
The new dress code according to Brows was necessary to “prepare children and let them know daily, the appropriate attire they are supposed to wear when entering a building, going somewhere, applying for a job, or visiting someone outside of the home setting.”
She went further to caution parents who will not adhere to the new dress code that they will not be allowed within the school premises. If you think it is a bluff, the Washington Post ran a story about an incident at the school where a parent was turned away for showing up wearing a t-shirt dress and headscarf.
Brown told the publication that the “parents were coming in risque clothes. They were coming in a manner that was not presentable for the educational setting.”
The letter has been met by a backlash with members of the Black community calling her on being an elitist, classist, and even outright racist. Some are furious saying her new policy has racial undertones.
On today a high school in Houston, TX set this dress code for PARENTS. The other photo is the Principal who set the new rules. Reminder you can be Black and still create, write, enact & enforce anti-Black policies. nothing going wrong in that school has any connection to bonnets. pic.twitter.com/nHhChVp39f
— LeslieMac 🖤 (@LeslieMac) April 24, 2019
This tweet is getting a smidge of attention. I’m not trying plug my shit on a thread that’s frankly about the constant pressure black women are put under to be less authentic, so if you’re a PoC and got some media you’d like to plug, I encourage to you use this thread! 💛🌼🧡
— Bean Gene Okerlund (@sabinalarge) April 24, 2019
She doesn’t want these kids arriving on time then…..😂😂
— Candy. Rey. (@CandIIRey) April 24, 2019
When you come to your kids school looking like this your not looking like a role model. Clearly this is a reaponse from the school to someone doing this or worse. Is it so hard to look presentable? pic.twitter.com/cpamrGlZ2E
— Really? (@PhreeKwnc) April 24, 2019
This is some serious misogynoir right here. And last I checked, we want parents to show up for their children – PERIOD. It’s hard enough for most of them to do so in our economy. We don’t need to make it harder or police them while doing so. This is some BS.
— JoAnn Lutmer-Paulson (@JoannLutmer) April 24, 2019
