By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY and JUAN LOZANO, Associated Press
MONT BELVIEU, Texas (AP) __ A Black high school student in Texas has been
punished with an in-school suspension over his hairstyle for over two weeks. The
family has argued he is not violating the dress code, but when he arrived Monday
wearing his hair still in twisted dreadlocks tied on top of his head, he was
suspended again, his mother said.
Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, was
initially suspended the same week his state outlawed racial discrimination based
on hairstyles. School officials said his dreadlocks fell below his eyebrows and
ear lobes and violated the district’s dress code.
George, 17, has been suspended since Aug. 31 at the Houston-area school. He was
in tears when he was suspended Monday despite the family`s appeals, his mother
Darresha George said.
“He has to sit on a stool for eight hours in a cubicle,“ she said. “That’s very
uncomfortable. Every day he’d come home, he’d say his back hurts because he has
to sit on a stool.”
The incident recalls debates over hair discrimination in schools and the
workplace and is already testing the state`s newly enacted CROWN Act, which took
effect Sept. 1.
The law, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,”
is intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and
schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles
including Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists or Bantu knots. Texas is one of 24
states that have enacted a version of the CROWN Act.
A federal version of the CROWN Act passed in the House of Representatives last
year, but was not successful in the Senate.
For Black people, hairstyles are more than just a fashion statement. Hair has
always played an important role across the Black diaspora, said Candice Matthews,
national minister of politics for the New Black Panther Nation. (Her group is
not affiliated with another New Black Panther organization widely considered
antisemitic.)
“Dreadlocks are perceived as a connection to wisdom,” Matthews said. “This is
not a fad, and this is not about getting attention. Hair is our connection to
our soul, our heritage and our connection to God.”
In George`s family, all the men have dreadlocks, going back generations. To them,
the hairstyle has cultural and religious importance, his mother said.
“Our hair is where our strength is, that’s our roots,” Darresha George said. “He
has his ancestors locked into his hair, and he knows that.“
Historians say braids and other hairstyles served as methods of communication
across African societies, including to identify tribal affiliation or marriage
status, and as clues to safety and freedom for those who were captured and
enslaved.
After slavery was abolished, Black American hair became political. Although the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex and national origin, Black people continued to face professional
and social stigma for not adopting grooming habits that fit white, European
beauty standards and norms.
The issue of race-based hair discrimination in the workplace has long existed
alongside concerns in public and private schools. In 2018, a white referee in
New Jersey told a Black high school wrestler to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit a
match. Viral video of the wrestler having his hair cut with scissors as the
crowd watched prompted the referee`s suspension and spurred passage of the
state`s CROWN Act.
Darresha George said her son has been growing his dreadlocks for nearly 10 years
and the family never received pushback or complaints until now. When let down,
his dreadlocks hang above his shoulders but she said he has not worn his hair
down since school started in mid-August. George said she couldn`t understand how
he violated the dress code when his hair was up.
“I even had a discussion about the CROWN Act with the principal and vice
principal,“ she said. “They said the act does not cover the length of his hair.
”
Barbers Hill Independent School District prohibits male students from having
hair extending below the eyebrows, ear lobes or top of a t-shirt collar,
according to the student handbook. Additionally, hair on all students must be
clean, well-groomed, geometrical and not an unnatural color or variation. The
school does not require uniforms.
The school previously clashed with another Black male student over the dress
code. Barbers Hill officials told a student he had to cut his dreadlocks to
return to school or participate in graduation in 2020, which garnered national
attention.
Greg Poole, who has been district superintendent since 2006, said the policy is
legal and teaches students to conform as a sacrifice benefitting everyone.
“When you are asked to conform … and give up something for the betterment of
the whole, there is a psychological benefit,“ Poole said. “We need more teaching
(of) sacrifice.”
Nearby districts have less stringent policies in place. For example, Poole noted
others allow students to wear jeans with holes in them, while Barbers Hill does
not. He said parents come to the district because of its strict standards and
high expectations, which he credits for the district`s academic success.
Attorney Allie Booker, who represents the family, said the school`s argument
doesn`t hold up because length is considered part of a hairstyle, which is
protected under the law.
“We are going to continue to fight, because you can`t tell someone that
hairstyles are protected and then be restrictive. If style is protected, then
style is protected,” she said.
Darresha George said she and her son refuse to conform to a standard set by
someone who is uncomfortable or ignorant.
“My son is well-groomed, and his hair is not distracting from anyone’s education,
” Darresha George said. “This has everything to do with the administration being
prejudiced toward Black hairstyles, toward Black culture.”
The district defends its dress code, which says its policies are meant to “teach
grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety
hazards and teach respect for authority.”
George`s situation has drawn solidarity from young Black people around the
nation, who say they have long dealt with discriminatory dress codes and
comments from adults about their hair.
“When I was in fifth grade, I had a teacher tell me that my blue hair, my pink
hair, was unnatural and too distracting for the other students in the class,”
said Victoria Bradley, 19, who lives in Detroit. Michigan passed the CROWN Act
into law this year.
Bradley, whose hair is braided and currently dyed multiple colors, said she
attributes a lot of her hair confidence to her mother, Bernita Bradley, a
longtime hair stylist and director of parent voice for the National Parents
Union.
Bernita Bradley said her first introduction to the CROWN Act was in 2021, when a
biracial, 7-year-old girl in Michigan had her hair cut by a school worker
without her parents’ permission. The girl’s father, Jimmy Hoffmeyer, filed a $1
million lawsuit against the school district, alleging racial discrimination and
ethnic intimidation. The lawsuit was settled earlier this year.
“That was modern-day scalping of this Black child,” Bradley said.
This is Darryl George`s first year at Barbers Hill High School. Last year, he
went to a school in nearby Baytown, Texas, where he had no problems wearing the
same hairstyle, his mother said. Darresha George said they recently moved to the
Mont Belvieu area for personal reasons.
The family was told they need to schedule a meeting with the principal, Darresha
George said.
After the suspension, “his grades are suffering, which also means he is not able
to play football or participate in any extracurriculars,“ Darresha George said.
“He was on track to graduate early, and now he is falling behind and will have
to work double time just so he can still graduate.”
