Family sue after Black teen suspended from school for his dreadlocks hairstyle
The row surrounding a Black student who was suspended from high school for five days for having dreadlocks has intensified after the family sued the school.
Darryl George, 17, a Black junior student at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, was told his dreadlocks violate the district’s dress code because they drop below his eyebrows and ear lobes. He has been serving in-school suspension since August 31 at the school in Houston, Texas.
His family and their attorney have in response accused the district of violating a new state law which outlawed racial discrimination based on hairstyles. They deny that Darryl’s hairstyle violates the school's dress code.
The new CROWN Act, an acronym for "Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”, aims to end race-based hair discrimination and bans schools and workplaces from punishing people as a result of their hair texture or style, including Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists or Bantu knots.
Darryl and his mother, Darresha, prepare for his return after a 5-day suspension (AP)It came into effect on September 1 - the day after Darryl’s suspension. Darresha George, Darryl’s mother, said this fight for her son's rights is “draining”. She added: “I try not to show everything because I have to stay strong for my son. I have to stay strong and stay in the fight.”
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Ms George and the family attorney filed a complaint regarding harassment and mistreatment by school district officials with the Texas Education Agency, arguing there was a violation of the CROWN Act. On Wednesday, the agency informed the family it will investigate the complaint.
Later the same day, Barbers Hill school district said it had filed a lawsuit in Chambers County district court requesting clarification on whether its dress code regulations were in violation of the CROWN Act. Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole said in a statement: “Although we believe the new law does not govern hair length, we are asking the judicial system of Texas to interpret.”
Darresha George said she was hospitalised after multiple panic and anxiety attacks brought on by the stress, saying the battle to get her son back into class took a mental and physical toll on her. Darryl made his first reappearance in class on Wednesday morning, and “felt free for a little bit” according to Darresha.
Darresha defiantly shows the unsigned suspension form Darryl received on his return to Barbers Hill School (AP)But not long after he was put straight back into in-school detention after being pulled out by the school principal due to his hair - and for allegedly wearing an earring. "So (the principal) snatched his freedom right back away," Darresha George said. The school says they will not intensify the punishment on Darryl while waiting for the lawsuit outcome.
The school was previously involved in a row with another Black male student, who was told he would have to cut his dreadlocks if he wanted to attend his graduation in 2020. A federal judge ruled the school district's hair policy to be discriminatory, and his mother withdrew him from the school.
Darryl’s family vows that Barbers Hill will face the “hammer of accountability”. Candice Matthews, national minister of politics for the New Black Panther Nation and a spokesperson for the family, said: “You will no longer discriminate or be racist or ignorant to no child on our watch.”
Only 24 states passed a version of the CROWN Act - with Texas being one. A federal version, passed in the House of Representatives last year, was unsuccessful in the Senate.
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