Black Dad, White Mom in Racist Fight Over Daughter's Cornrows
Viral stories about dads and their daughters’ braids are typically heartwarming — like the one about Michael Worthington and the precious styling sessions with his 4-year-old, or of Kordale Lewis and Kaleb Anthony, whose videos of them lovingly undertaking their kids’ hair and other morning rituals landed them a spot in a Nikon campaign.
But this time around, the tale is an upsetting display of racism — spewed by a white mom toward Nick Harris, the black father of their biracial child. Harris, a Delaware-based barber, posted screenshots of his back-and-forth texts with the unidentified mother on Facebook on Dec. 4. They begin with Harris sending her a photo of the cornrows that had been woven on the head of their daughter, who looks to be about 3 years old.
“Ru serious. Just wait til Tuesday. I am so pissed off,” the mom, who comes up as “Babymom” in his phone contacts, texted in reply to the photo.
Seemingly knowing what the problem was, Harris answered, “Is that seriously your response? It looks great! She doesn’t look ‘too black.'” To which she replied, “No she looks black and she’s not! I’m taking it out, I hate that sh**.” Harris points out that the girl is indeed black, “unless I’m not her father,” adding, “Your child is mixed sweetie… She will always be half black. I treat her like a princess and that’s why her hair is done instead of looking like a hot mess… It truly amazes me that you hate half of your daughter.”
The vitriol continues for several screens, with comments from Babymom including, “My kid is more white in my eyes not fully black so she don’t need that ugly hairstyle,” and “Nick I don’t gotta embrace that side of her. This isn’t history class.”
Harris, who could not be reached for comment by Yahoo Beauty, noted that he posted the conversation to Facebook for support. “So I don’t really like to bring my drama to FB,” he wrote. “But I’m just curious if I’m crazy or if anyone else has ever dealt with a similar situation. I need advice.” His post has been shared more than 11,500 times and has more than 5,400 reactions and 3,900 heated comments — with plenty of advice in the mix.
Some suggested Harris try to get full custody of his daughter, many complimented the hairstyle, and a few shared photos of their own biracial children. Others criticized Harris for not knowing “Babymom” was a racist in the first place.
Still others gave him some support: “Just indulge the kid as best you can with things and tell the ex to piss off when the kid wants something,” one commenter offered. “She can always change things later, but I think you are doing the best you can as a father who has a daughter, so that’s more then most men do.”
Another was among the many to lash out at the mom. “She’s disgusting!!!! The child’s hair looks lovely, her mother is a racist fool who doesn’t know sh** about a child with mixed/afro hair,” she said. “You should take her to court!! The mother will end up brainwashing the child to think she is white when she isn’t!!! You show her that being half black is just as beautiful.”
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