Georgia school under fire for only using pictures of black kids to illustrate 'inappropriate' hairstyles

On Saturday, The New York Timesreported that an elementary school in Decatur, Georgia is under fire for only displaying images of black children in a demonstration of "inappropriate" hairstyles.

The Narvie J. Harris Theme School, which has a 95 percent black student body and is named for a former black superintendent, first put up the display on Thursday, and then immediately took it down after receiving a wave of complaints.

"It wouldn't have looked so bad if they had included other races," said Danay Wadlington, an African-American beauty parlor owner in a nearby town who posted an image of the display on Facebook. "Those styles are very popular styles. Who says that our hair is not professional? Our hair is part of us."

"The poster was the result of a miscommunication relating to appearance rules at the school," said the DeKalb County School District in a statement on Friday. “Once the district was made aware of the poster, it was immediately removed. In addition, a letter was sent to parents clarifying the school’s dress code and appearance policy." The district is majority black, and the third largest in the state.

District officials declined to say who authorized the poster, but promised that sensitivity training would be held at the school.