Horton wrote online, “I’m so blessed to have been a part of this to give her an amazing day that showed her that she truly is beautiful and her hair color was the BOMB! Of course we kept it for the shoot!”
Horton brought two of his children — daughter My’Jey, 7, and son Jeremiah, 3 — to the photo session with Marian, hoping to put her at ease. His plan worked.
“It was really good,” Horton said of the photo shoot. “Her energy at first was apprehensive, but then they were [all] doing Fortnite dances, listening to Ariana Grande. Her confidence just popped.”
Image: Marian Scott/Jermaine Horton Photography.
Marian’s dad told Today that the photo session wound up being so much fun, Marian “told her mom that she wants to be a model.”
Marian raved about the photo session, too. She told news outlet WILX that she loved having the chance “to be myself.”
As for Horton, he told WILX, “Confidence is a process, especially when you’re rebuilding someone’s confidence, especially a child, because they’re so fragile… So we want to make sure that she feels not just great that day, but going forward, that it’s ongoing that she still feels that support.”
Social media was full of praise for Horton and pure joy for Marian, as evidenced by this tweet:
Sir, I am profoundly moved by your heart and heroism. Please know, you have touched hearts, held captive by prejudice (apartheid, ageism,bigotry) and set us free. Thank You💗💗🥰 😊
— victoria bieber (@allegro572) November 20, 2019
Marian no longer attends Paragon Charter — her parents removed her from the school after the photo incident. Now, Marian’s at public school, where she’s happily wearing her red locks. Her dad told Today, “There’s no uniform or restrictions on hair… She feels like she can be herself.”
Paragon Charter’s rep, Leah Nixon, spoke with People magazine about the incident and defended the school policy, saying it was clearly laid out in a handbook.
“We take great care to ensure our families are well-informed about this policy, and also work closely with students and their parents if there’s a concern,” Nixon’s statement said. “We understand the importance of good communication in helping strengthen the partnership we have with our families, and will continue to make this a priority to create a school environment where everyone is valued and has their voice heard.”
But that statement fell flat for Marian’s parents. Her father said the school failed to reach out to him and his wife, LaToya Howard, about reaching a resolution.
“If they at least would’ve reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, come get her, she’s got a hair issue, we need you to change it, that’s not allowed, it’s in the handbook,'” Scott told WILX. “They didn’t even go to those extents. They let her stay in school. So if she’s not a disruption to the class, then why is she a disruption to the picture?”
Photographer Horton believes strongly that the school policy has got to go, especially since Marian’s red hair extensions were nothing new.
“She’s been wearing her hair [like that] all year,” Horton said. He also said he learned that other children with bold hairstyles such as mohawks were, in fact, allowed to have their photos taken by the school photographer — raising questions about whether this was purely the policing of Black hair specifically.
SheKnows asked Horton what message he’d like to give to schools randomly enforcing dress codes.
“I would say it’s time for change,” Horton replied. “Not mediocre change, but important change. These are outdated rules made by old white men, when no man should be in power to tell a woman anything about her body. Women are the most disrespected creatures on planet Earth.”
Horton’s making sure he continues to do his part to make big changes happen. The photographer has begun what he calls a “passion project”: The Art of Confidence, highlighting other youth unfairly targeted and humiliated by archaic policies in schools. (You can check out Horton’s new The Art of Confidence page on Instagram.)
View this post on Instagram
“I’m hoping out of this something great happens,” Horton said. “Let’s have a conversation [about this], let’s start a conversation.”
We think Horton’s more than begun that conversation; his mission has gone viral, much to his surprise.
“It’s crazy,” he laughed. “I can’t believe it.”
We plan to continue the dialogue as well. We’re also thrilled Marian got third-grade pictures far surpassing any school portraits — and we forever stan photographer Jermaine Horton for stepping up to help Marian get her groove back, just the way she is.
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