Why Would Anyone Do This?
Jimmy’s daughter was inconsolable. As he held his daughter, he was trying to understand what happened through her sobs. This morning he had sent her to school with shoulder-length curly hair, and she had come home with almost no hair on her head!
The father saw red! Who would do this to his daughter? What right did they have? He was about to start a massive battle and make sure whoever did this was held responsible. It was time for people to be held accountable and to keep their hands to themselves. His fists clenched, he knew he wouldn’t stop until justice was served.
A Sweet Family Next Door
Jimmy and his daughter led a comfortable life. All Jimmy cared about was making sure his daughter had every opportunity available to her. In his eyes, nothing else mattered more than her happiness.
When your child goes to school you expect them to be safe. There are only so many things that a father would excuse as childish behavior. What happened in March 2021 was malicious and put his baby girl in the middle of a terrible racial dispute.
It Started On The Bus
After a long school day kids can be energetic and silly. The last few minutes on a bus ride home are especially playful! It’s the last chance to be with your friends before home and being inside the house until tomorrow.
Jimmy’s daughter Jurnee was having a regular day at school and looked forward to being at home with her dad. She didn’t notice that she was about to be the victim of a prank! With one swift snip, she was forever changed.
She Wasn’t Paying Attention
Jurnee was busy looking out the window when her classmates started focusing on her long blonde hair. Jurnee had beautiful curls and loved wearing her hair long. Her classmates were feeling mischievous and decided to pull a prank.
We know children never think ahead or understand how their actions can hurt those around them. These kids weren’t trying to be mean but their small actions had big consequences. In a few seconds, Jurnee’s entire day changed and she had felt her face flush with embarrassment. Why would anyone do this?
It Was Just A Trim
The classmates in the row behind her had found a pair of scissors and decided to trim part of Jurnee’s beautiful blonde locks. With their little hands, they managed to do one quick snip before dropping the scissors and laughing.
Jurnee heard the laughter and turned around to see what happened. She put her hands in her hair and felt the extremely short pieces! When did this happen? The bus got to her stop and she ran off to find her father. What could he do to fix this damage?
Don’t Worry - We Can Fix It
Jimmy looked at his daughter and saw her tears. He gave her a big hug and told her they could fix this right away. He instantly took her to a hairdresser who evened out the cut. Jurnee left the salon smiling, her long hair still reached her shoulders.
That night over dinner, Jimmy tried to understand what had happened before the kids cut Jurnee’s hair. She hung her head in shame and said she hadn’t been paying attention. She didn’t know why anyone would do this to her. The family had no idea their pain was just beginning.
The First Time Was Child's Play
Jimmy could not believe it when the next day his daughter returned with almost no hair on her head. He tried to get an answer from her but she kept repeating “teacher”. Jimmy’s heart sank to his knees. Did an adult do this to his daughter?
Teachers are trusted every day to protect our children. They enrich their minds and make sure school is a safe environment. How could the person in charge have done this to his daughter? He needed answers and he needed them now!
No One Wanted To Take Responsibility
When Jimmy called the school, no one seemed to know what he was talking about. It felt like every corner he turned there was a door shutting in his face. If the school thought they could avoid him forever they were sorely mistaken.
There was no way he would let the school get away with this kind of behavior. Tonight he would focus on comforting his daughter, but tomorrow he would go speak with the principle. How could this have happened?
No One Had An Answer
The next day Jimmy dropped his daughter off at school and went directly to the principal. Getting Jurnee out of the house this morning had been chaotic. She was embarrassed but she was scared. What else would happen to her at school?
The principal hadn’t heard of anything happening and promised Jimmy he would follow up. Jimmy left the office and realized the principal had never apologized. He began to suspect the school was trying to avoid conflict. Jimmy knew who to talk to next.
No One Was Going To Be Quiet
When Jimmy walked out of his daughter's school he reached out to his community on social media to let everyone know what had happened. He had taken a picture of his daughter the day before and you could feel her devastation through the photograph.
It was heartbreaking that this had happened to Jurnee and JImmy’s friends encouraged him to reach out to the local news. He wasn’t sure if anyone would listen but the world was beginning to pay attention.
The First Interview
A local news channel told Jimmy they wanted to interview him to understand the situation better. He didn’t want his daughter to be interviewed but allowed the picture of the third haircut to be displayed.
His voice at times became overcome with emotion. When speaking about the bus haircut, Jimmy said, “I mean, I chalked it up because it was a child and you’re not thinking of any serious consequences having to do with a kid.” His face got dark when he began to speak about the school.
An Adult Takes Responsibility
In Jimmy’s opinion, there is no excuse for the school's lack of apology or responsibility in the incident with his daughter. In the most basic of requirements, Jimmy “would like them to own up to their responsibilities.”
He continued by saying, “We’ve been asking for a public apology for the most part. This is important so Jurnee knows that yes, what they did was wrong, and that it should have never been done, and that she should never have been through something like this.” This is an issue on child safety, and even if the school was staying quiet Jimmy wouldn’t.
There Is No Reason
In the educational system, there is no reason for a teacher to put their hands on a student, or give out an unsolicited haircut. Even trying to understand how the situation would start doesn’t make sense to Jimmy.
The more he spoke out, the more other parents listened. This could have been their child. It could have been their family. If this was happening at the school, what else were these teachers capable of?
Trying To Find Empathy For A Solution
Jimmy continued to speak with the local news and let them know he had tried to envision what had happened. Did the teacher panic? Did they think it would be helpful? His daughter was happy with her haircut, so why was anyone touching his daughter's hair?
Jimmy said, “Even if they were trying to do it out of the kindness of their heart, once they’d seen the outcome they should have been like, ‘yeah we messed up – and called me so I knew what had happened.” Frustrated with the lack of response, Jimmy found a new ally to help get Jurnee the justice she deserves.
The Community Was Listening
When Jimmy’s interview went live with the local news, his community was quick to respond. Due to Jurnee’s racial identity, the assault garnered more attention quickly. For years African Americans had experienced prejudice and racism. Enough was enough.
The community began to hold fundraisers so Jimmy could consider sending Jurnee to a different school. Every day he hated that his daughter walked back into that building. He never knew what would happen or if she would be safe during the day.
Our Hair Is Our Crown
One post on Instagram eloquently worded the tragedy that Jurnee had experienced. The community member wrote, “Everyone meet Jurnee, she is a 7-year-old first-grade student from Ganiard Elementary. She went to school and her teacher decided to cut her hair to the scalp.”
The eloquent community member states, “Our hair is our crown and that teacher stole Jurnee’s crown. The teacher still has a job.” The conversation became an analysis. What else could teachers inflict on our children during school hours? A new piece of legislation was around the corner to support all queens internationally.
The C.R.O.W.N Act
Even though Jurnee’s trauma took place during a pandemic, the C.R.O.W.N act Bill No. 4811 was created in 2019. The legislation would “ensure protection against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles by extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots in the workplace and public schools.”
Jurnee had been exposed to the unkind treatment of society and her father wanted to find more ways to protect her. Her story was getting national attention, but had this put any pressure on the school? With so much support what else could Jimmy do?
Is This A Racially Charged Act?
Jimmy sat with his three daughters and discussed the situation with the FOX TV Digital Team. He spoke to the anchor about how his family was receiving an overwhelming amount of positive and negative support. The anchor asked one especially important question.
Did Jimmy believe this was a racially motivated act because his daughter was biracial in a predominantly white neighborhood? The answer is still something Jimmy is trying to understand.
He Wants To Believe It’s Not …
Jimmy pauses before answering the anchor woman's questions. He has also grown up in this neighborhood and attended these schools. Was it possible his daughter was receiving this treatment due to the color of her skin?
Jimmy says, “That is the hardest question to answer, and I hope that everybody understands that I really don’t know. You always hope it isn’t the case.” Jimmy’s family was becoming the face of the C.R.O.W.N act, but would it ever make Jurnee forget the experience?
Similar Shared Experiences
With Jurnee’s story on the national news, many women of color were writing to the family or using the hashtag #justiceforjurnee, to share their own experiences. Jurnee was part of a larger community that was fed up with being ostracized.
This time, their voices would be heard and apologies would be given for mistreatment. Hopefully this attention would finally get Jurnee into a safe space to continue her education, but would the staff member at her school keep their job?
This Impactful CNN Quote
CNN is a well-respected news outlet and they were covering Jurnee’s story as well. It felt like you couldn’t turn on the television or go on social media without finding a new way to support or align with the cause.
The quote CNN used from an original lawmaker behind the C.R.O.W.N act is the simple reason that the school is “protecting adults, not children.” Is this who should be trusted to protect and educate our youth?
It’s Time For Legal Action
After months of community outrage, Jimmy decided it was time for legal action. He had been supported in his local community but was seeing progress where it mattered - at the school board.
Jimmy kept thinking, he had to stop this from happening to other families. It had been a horrible experience and he wanted the school to pay for negligence. The lawyer he handled knew exactly what to do and was guaranteed to fight until the end!
Who Is Ben Crump?
Ben Crump is a trial lawyer that specifically handles seeking justice. He has been involved in several high-profile cases and he always puts 100% into everything he does for his clients. Ben was eager to slap the school with a lawsuit and wake them up!
This lawsuit would finally show concrete proof that actions have consequences. The school at this time had remained open with no teachers being asked to leave the faculty. Hopefully, Jimmy & Jurnee were getting closer to the taste of victory.
Attorney Crump Takes Action!
Ben Crump’s case was clear. This family deserves justice and retribution for a violation of constitutional rights. An employee of the school board should never feel comfortable cutting a child’s hair.
They are teachers - not hairdressers - and have no training to perform that action. During the past few months, the school had conducted an internal investigation but the results were already outraging parents. The community would not allow the school to get away with zero responsibility.
Was The School Taking Any Action
After the initial incident, Jimmy constantly followed up with the school to find out what was happening with the teacher in question. It was revealed the teacher that had cut Jurnee’s hair was the librarian.
The librarian had seen Jurnee’s haircut and claimed they thought it was uneven. They also claim they were attempting to help. When Jurnee arrived at school that morning her hair was shoulder length. Does this librarian finally realize the gravity of her actions?
How Would They Handle The Situation
The librarian after being questioned claims this event was not racially motivated. They did issue a formal apology but there were still so many questions left unanswered. Why would anyone feel comfortable cutting a child’s hair?
It was also time to discuss what would happen to the faculty members that had remained silent while the librarian gave the haircut. All faculty testified that Jurnee did not want the haircut but no one stepped forward to stop it.
No One To Date Was Punished
After acting out of line and also remaining silent, none of the faculty at the school were punished. None of them were forced to take time off work or distance themselves from Jurnee. The worst reprimand issued was a “final warning”.
Social media still had many thoughts on the case and was devoted to continuing to support Jurnee and her family. What other responses came to the family and the C.R.O.W.N act?
Peace Is Power
One organization that was actively involved in voicing their support was the ‘Peace Is Power Circle’. They had been actively involved with Jurnee’s story from day one. They highlighted that Jurnee was a biracial young girl who had been subjected to a week of hair trauma.
They made sure their followers understood that the first haircut came from a child, and Jurnee’s father brought her to the salon and picked her own style. It was only two short days later that a librarian decided to be a stylist and make Jurnee the poster child of racially motivated prejudice.
It Was Not Allowed
Jurnee was seven years old when the librarian cut her hair without permission. Jurnee was clearly able to tell her that she did not want the hair cut. With other school employees turning a blind eye, Jurnee cried silently for the rest of the day.
Another important detail that Jurnee told her father is this librarian told her, “her hair would like better straightened”. Jurnee’s curls are not the problem. Jurnee’s genetics did not do anything wrong. Who else came forward to support Jurnee?
A Sorority Of Support
It was important for Jurnee to see positive representation in women of color. She did not want to feel uncomfortable in her skin or embarrassed by her hair. She had a wonderful day with the sororities members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Their communities include Sigma Kappa, Gamma Alpha Zeta Zeta, Pi Gamma Zeta, and GMAL chapters. These women all embrace the principles of scholarship, community service, and sisterhood. Jurnee was already a part of a vibrant sisterhood connection. How was her family supporting her through this time?
Three Future Leaders Of Tomorrow
Jurnee is one of Jimmy’s three daughters. He knows that as a father his duty is to make his girls independent and let their voices be heard. He obviously wishes a traumatic experience hadn’t happened to his daughter but hopes it will be a learning experience.
It didn’t just impact Jurnee but her siblings as well. It could have happened to any of the three biracial girls. Jimmy also took one important interview to speak to more women and young girls facing prejudices in the workplace.
Dear Listener, With Jimmy Hoffmeyer
The podcast interview with ‘Dear Girlfriend’ host reaches a primarily female audience. It allows their listener to connect and offer support to Jimmy and Jurnee's family. Even while being interviewed Jimmy still tried to believe the act wasn’t racially motivated.
The even bigger news was coming around the corner, and people credit the monumental decision to Jurnee's battle! How amazing is it to find out that before ten years old she would already be in the history books!
The C.R.O.W.N Legacy
While the bill was passed in California back in 2019, after Jurnee struggled with her school the County Board of Commissioners in her local school ward also enacted the bill. Jurnee was not guaranteeing this would never happen to another child. If it did there would be instant and strict consequences.
Finding a silver lining is always important. Even though the situation was terrible, what else happened that was for the best from the whole experience?
A Silver Lining
A blessing that came out of the experience for the family was the chance to start a new school. With the support of a GoFundMe and community care donations, Jimmy was able to enroll Jurnee into a safe and inclusive space.
He is thrilled the experience did not change her love for learning and that she still looks forward to attending school and being with her new friends. What will the family do months later after the haircut?
The Family Will Continue To Fight
The last time Jimmy posted on his social media was at the end of September. His followers are still interested in making Jurnee know she is beautiful regardless of the length of her hair. At some point though Jimmy has to focus on his family and take them off social media.
You can still follow the hashtags #justiceforjurnee and the account @thecrownact for more up-to-date information. With the help of all organizations listed hopefully no queen will ever lose their crowns again.