Even after CROWN Act, Texas student suspended for dreadlocks

The same week his state outlawed racial discrimination based on hairstyles, Darryl George, a Black high school student in Mont Belvieu, Texas, was suspended for showing up – as he always has – wearing twisted dreadlocks. 

School officials at Barbers Hill High School said the junior’s dreadlocks fell below his eyebrows and ear lobes, violating the district’s dress code. And despite his family’s disagreement with the situation, Darryl has repeatedly served weeks of in-school suspensions since Aug. 31.

Darryl’s mother, Darresha George, is fighting back against the suspensions and has also pointed out the harsh way that Darryl’s suspension has been carried out. “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, [and] … say his back hurts….”

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,” Ms. Matthews explains. “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 the George 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,” Ms. 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.

Ms. George said her son has been growing his dreadlocks for nearly 10 years and the family never received pushback or complaints until now.

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. When let down, Darryl’s dreadlocks hang above his shoulders, but he has not worn his hair down since school started in mid-August, according to Ms. George. Instead, Darryl ties his hair on top of his head. Ms. George said she can’t  understand how Darryl violated the dress code when his hair is tied up

“I even had a discussion about the CROWN Act with the principal and vice principal [following Darryl’s suspension]” Ms. George said. “They said the act does not cover the length of his hair.”

This isn’t the first time the school has enforced its policy regarding hairstyles. In 2020, Barbers Hill officials garnered national attention when they clashed with another Black male student, telling  a student that he had to cut his dreadlocks to return to school or participate in graduation.

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.”

Greg Poole, who has been district superintendent since 2006, said the hairstyle policy is legal and teaches students to conform as a sacrifice benefiting everyone.

“When you are asked to conform ... and give up something for the betterment of the whole, there is a psychological benefit,” Mr. Poole said. “We need more teaching [of] sacrifice.”

Nearby districts have less stringent policies in place. For example, Mr. Poole noted that other districts allow students to wear jeans with holes in them, while Barbers Hill does not. He said parents come to Barbers Hill because of its strict standards and high expectations, which he also credits for the district’s academic success.

Attorney Allie Booker, who represents the George 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.

Ms. 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,” Ms. George said. “This has everything to do with the administration being prejudiced toward Black hairstyles, toward Black culture.”

Darryl’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, who lives in Detroit. Michigan passed the CROWN Act into law this year.

Ms. 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,” Ms. 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. 

The family was told they need to schedule a meeting with the principal, Ms. 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.”

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Cheyanne Mumphrey reported from Phoenix.