In the same week her state outlawed racial discrimination based on hairstyle, a black high school student in Texas was suspended because school officials said her district violated the district’s dress code.
Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, received an in-school suspension after he was told his hair was falling below his eyebrows and earlobes.
George, 17, wore thick, twisted dreadlocks tied on top of his head, said his mother, Darresha George.
George served the suspension last week.
Her mother said she plans to return to a Houston-area school on Monday, wearing her dreadlocks in a ponytail, even though she is required to attend an alternative school as a result.
The incident reignited the debate over hair discrimination in schools and workplaces and has already tested the state’s newly enacted CROWN Act, which came into effect Sept. 1.
Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, sits for a photo showing his location on Sept. 10. 2023. AP
The law, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” aims to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and prevent employers and schools from punishing people for hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists or Auxiliary node.
Texas is one of 24 states that have enacted a version of the CROWN Act.
The federal version of the CROWN Act was passed in the House of Representatives last year, but failed in the Senate.
Darryl George’s mother said he plans to go back to school, wearing his dreadlocks in a ponytail. AP
For black people, hairstyles are more than just a fashion statement.
Hair has always played an important role throughout the Black diaspora, said Candice Matthews, national political minister for the New Black Panther Nation. (His group is not affiliated with other New Black Panther organizations that are considered antisemitic.)
“Dreadlocks are considered an extension of wisdom,” says Matthews. “This is not a trend, and this is not about getting attention. Hair is our connection to our soul, our heritage and our connection to God.”
Barbers Hill High School said it was not discriminatory to suspend Darryl George because of his hairstyle because his hair falls below his eyebrows and earlobes. Google Street View
In George’s family, all the men have dreadlocks, hereditary.
For them, the hairstyle has cultural and religious significance, her mother said.
“Our hair is our strength, it’s our roots,” says Darresha George. “She has her ancestors locked in her hair, and she knows it.”
Historians say braids and other hairstyles served as a method of communication across African societies, including to identify tribal affiliation or marital status, and as signs of safety and freedom for those captured and enslaved.
After slavery was abolished, Black American hair became political.
Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, Black people continued to face professional and social stigma for not practicing grooming habits that conformed to white, European beauty standards and norms.
Darryl George’s mother appreciates her son keeping his dreadlocks, saying his ancestors are “locked in his hair.”
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 the match.
A viral video of the wrestler cutting his hair with scissors as the crowd watched led to the referee’s suspension and prompted the ratification of the state’s CROWN Act.
Darresha George said her son had grown his dreadlocks for almost 10 years and the family had never received any pressure or complaints until now. When let down, his dreadlocks hang over his shoulders. She said she couldn’t understand how she broke the dress code when her hair was pinned up.
“I have also discussed the CROWN Act with the principal and vice principal,” he said. “They said the act didn’t cover the length of her hair.”
Barbers Hill Independent School District prohibits male students from having hair that extends below the eyebrows, earlobes or above the collar of a t-shirt, according to the student handbook.
In addition, hair on all students must be clean, neat, geometric and not unnatural colors or variations.
Schools do not require uniforms.
The school had previously clashed with another black male student over dress code.
Barbers Hill officials told a student he had to cut off his dreadlocks in order to return to school or participate in graduation in 2020, drawing national attention.
Greg Poole, who has been the district’s superintendent since 2006, said the policy is legal and teaching students to comply is a sacrifice that benefits everyone.
“When you’re asked to comply … and give something up for the greater good, there’s a psychological benefit,” Poole said. “We need more lessons (about) sacrifice.”
Nearby districts have less strict policies.
For example, Poole noted that others allow students to wear jeans with holes in them, while Barbers Hill does not.
He said parents come to the district because of the rigorous standards and high expectations, which he credits for the district’s academic success.
Attorney Allie Booker, who is representing the family, said the school’s argument was untenable because the length is considered part of the hairstyle, which is protected under the law.
“We will continue to fight, because you cannot tell someone that a hairstyle is protected and then be strict. If style is protected, then style is protected,” he said.
Darresha George says she and her son refuse to conform to standards set by someone who is uncomfortable or ignorant.
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“My son is neat, and his hair doesn’t interfere with anyone’s education,” said Darresha George. “This has to do with an administration that is prejudiced against Black hairstyles, against Black culture.”
The district has defended its dress code, which it says aims 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 across the country, 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 unusual and too distracting to 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 now dyed a variety of colors, said she attributes much of her hair confidence to her mother, Bernita Bradley, a longtime hairstylist and director of parent voices 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’s modern-day scalping of Black kids,” Bradley said.
Darryl George ended his suspension on Friday, but his mother is worried about what will happen on Monday when he returns to school with his dreadlocks in a ponytail.
“She will be following the dress code on Monday with her dreadlocks, which don’t go past her eyebrows or earlobes,” Darresha George said. School officials told her they planned to enroll her son in an alternative school if they believed she continued to violate the dress code.
After the suspension, “his grades suffered, which also meant he couldn’t play football or participate in any extracurriculars,” Darresha George said. “He was on track to graduate early, and now he’s behind and has to work twice as hard so he can still graduate.”
The family has considered changing school districts, he said. “That’s a fight in itself.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
