At Ganiard Elementary School in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, a White teacher with unmitigated gall cut first-grader Jurnee Hoffmeyer’s hair on March 26, at Ganiard Elementary School in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Little Jurnee, who is biracial, was traumatized.
According to The Black Wall Street Times, Jimmy Hoffmeyer, the young girl’s father, was appalled to see his baby’s luscious curls had been allegedly butchered by the school librarian, Kelly Mogg.
But the March 26 incident was a continuation of the s***storm that had occurred just two days prior.
A school bus bully had reportedly cut her hair just two days before the incident.
Although Jurnee’s father, Jimmy Hoffmeyer, was upset, he wanted to ensure that his daughter felt good about returning to school.
“I know how today’s society is. I wasn’t going to let my little girl go to school with half of her hair cut off.”
Knowing the situation needed a solution that would leave his baby girl feeling good about herself, Jimmy took her to a hair salon to fix his daughter’s botched cut.
However, the issue was far from over. Jurnee came home from school with a second botched cut– this time, her tresses were cut damn-near to her scalp.
Jimmy was floored.
“I don’t think there are words to express how I felt in that moment, I asked if the girl on the bus had cut her hair again, and she said, ‘no. My library teacher cut my hair.’ I couldn’t believe it. I jumped in the car to go to school but realized it was spring break. I couldn’t get ahold of anyone, so I called the cops.”
Mogg, who’s listed as the media specialist, is not currently facing repercussions for her actions.
Ganiard Elementary School’s principal contacted Jurnee’s father almost instantly after he contacted Jurnee’s teacher, Kristen Jacobs, to notify her that he was filing a police report.
Regarding the call from Principal Marcy Stout, Hoffmeyer said that “She apologized and said she didn’t know why they would do that, I asked what was going to be done about it, and she said they would probably get a mark in their progress folder or something.”
“And that any further actions would need to go through the superintendent. So, I told her I want the superintendent to call me.”
Jimmy was dissatisfied with the response and decided he no longer wanted his baby to attend the school.
“The principal tried to convince us to keep her in the school. She said Jurnee would be safe there and offered to follow her around to make sure nothing happened to her,” he told the publication.
“How is the solution to punish my kid?”
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Since the traumatic experience, Jimmy says that Jurnee has lost the sparkle that made her a special little girl, and she has had to see a counselor.
“We’ve had to take her to the doctor because she hasn’t been eating. She’s having trouble sleeping now and always wants to be with us. All of this because her hair didn’t look how they thought it should, wasn’t done to their standards,” Hoffmeyer said.
“If you look at pictures of her before this happened, you can just see her spark and her energy. Now it’s like it’s just gone.”
The little girl’s story reached the National Parents Union. The association is fully supporting the Hoffmeyer family with legal counsel and requesting for Michigan lawmakers to enforce the CROWN Act; an anti-discrimination legislation to help protect students from racial discrimination like the one Jurnee faced.
Regarding the issue, the parents’ organization said, “No child should have to experience this type of humiliating ordeal because of their hair texture, style, or type! The adults entrusted with her learning crossed the line, didn’t protect her, and had no desire to be accountable for their actions.”
Thankfully, Jurnee’s father is not going to sit back and leave things as is. He is demanding justice for his daughter one way or another.
