A Black student’s family sues Texas officials over his suspension for hairstyle

3 years ago by MicroWave to c/news

School officials say the student's dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violate the district’s dress code.

The family of a Black high school student in Texas on Saturday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state’s governor and attorney general over his ongoing suspension by his school district for his hairstyle.

Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, has been serving an in-school suspension since Aug. 31 at the Houston-area school. School officials say his dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violate the district’s dress code.

George’s mother, Darresha George, and the family’s attorney deny the teenager’s hairstyle violates the dress code, saying his hair is neatly tied in twisted dreadlocks on top of his head.

ericisshort 124 points 3 years ago

Good. I hope he gets rich and that it ends this sort of bullshit in Texas schools.

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A_Toasty_Strudel 69 points 3 years ago

Besides, even if it violates the dress code they have, this shouldn't be a part of the dress code to begin with. Who cares if somebody has some freaking dreads like get over it. Smh

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MudMan 41 points 3 years ago

I am baffled that the anglosphere has a dress code for schools in the first place. I don't think I've ever heard of anybody getting even talked to for what they wear in a public school here, and I've had teachers in the family for four decades.

Private schools sure, but those are for nepo babies and idiots.

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dojan 13 points 3 years ago

Even private schools where I'm from are unlikely to have that kind of thing. They might have a uniform, but I'm not sure if dress codes are even allowed.

I suppose the exception would be if someone is wearing something that can be considered offensive. E.g. if they come to school in an SS uniform. That'd definitely cause a commotion. I've no idea how a hairstyle could be offensive unless someone shaved/shaped their hair into like a slur or something.

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NuPNuA 4 points 3 years ago

It's not just the Angloshphere, looking at this page https://en.wikipedia.org/... Plenty of countries across Africa, Central/South America, the middle east and Asia have uniforms too.

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MudMan 2 points 3 years ago

Yeeeah, that's fair, but we're talking about an anglosphere country, we're talking about dress codes rather than uniforms and I really didn't want to stop to dig into the roots and history of school uniforms anyway.

Point is, dress codes in school are weird.

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Zahille7 21 points 3 years ago

Hair-based dress code rules are always bullshit. I used to go to a school that required boys' hair to be above the ears, as well. I always thought it was stupid, so did my mom, so she let me grow my hair out and the worst they did was tell me I need to get a haircut.

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garretble 61 points 3 years ago

It’s always stupid when these kids have to deal with this, but it’s especially stupid with this student because his hair looked awesome (if the photos we see are what they are upset about).

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WindyRebel 33 points 3 years ago

Yeah, if what I see in the articles and thumbnails are what he’s rockin’ then what the fuck is the problem?! He’s got a good thing going.

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Drusas 36 points 3 years ago

It's about control. Racism and control.

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sin_free_for_00_days 8 points 3 years ago

I think it looks stupid as hell, but I don't care ( but who cares what this old, obese, white dude thinks about some kids' haircut). Further, that's no reason to get suspended. Hell, I would have been suspended a whole bunch of times if my HS had a rule against stupid haircuts. I'd argue that HS is the time to be stupid about this shit.

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GillyGumbo 52 points 3 years ago

Isn't the rule about hair not going past eyebrows or ear lobes? Every picture I've seen of this dude meets that requirement. I really don't understand the reasoning behind the violation?

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scrubbles 57 points 3 years ago

There is no reasoning. It's just white conservatives triggered by black man.

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flying_sheep 17 points 3 years ago

*boy

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elbarto777 -1 points 3 years ago
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Mirshe 34 points 3 years ago

The school's reasoning is "well if he ever took them down he'd be in violation, so he's in violation regardless".

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ruckblack 17 points 3 years ago

Yeah I think the reasoning is that they're not allowed to have hair that, if let down, would be lower than their eyebrows/earlobes. You're not allowed to have long hair and put it up. Very stupid.

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FluffyPotato 15 points 3 years ago

Schools in the US can regulate students hairstyle?! Wtf?

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Pyr_Pressure 11 points 3 years ago

Yay small government?

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Rootiest 6 points 3 years ago

Maybe in Texas.

We'll see how the lawsuit plays out

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NuPNuA -15 points 3 years ago

So can schools in the UK and Japan from what I understand. It's not uncommon. At the end of the day, school is there to prepare you for work and if an employer has a dress code in the contract you sign shouting "racist" at them isn't going to help.

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FluffyPotato 6 points 3 years ago

Yea, both the UK and Japan are pretty fucked, I would not take policy from there. I have yet know of a job with a dress code other than fast food places or cooking also if your contract tried to define hair length or style anywhere it would most likely be void anyways.

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30mag 49 points 3 years ago
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be_excellent_to_each_other 21 points 3 years ago

Abbott signs into law CROWN Act banning race-based hair discrimination

How'd they fool him into that? Does it have a line in it that bans topics that could make white kids uncomfortable or something?

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30mag 12 points 3 years ago
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affiliate 11 points 3 years ago

maybe he wants something in his pocket that he can bring up to say “see! i’m not racist!”. or maybe he thought it was a losing battle? (it would probably be extremely easy for a court to rule that a dreadlocks ban is unconstitutional)

according to this article, the law was introduced by a democrat and “sailed through both chambers of the Legislature with overwhelming support”. so that at least gives some support to the second hypothesis.

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corroded 29 points 3 years ago

What business does a school have telling students how to cut their hair? When I was in school (over 20 years ago), I had my hair long, short, colored, and everything in-between. Nobody gave a fuck.

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Son_of_dad 22 points 3 years ago

Texas. They love the government all up in their business

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NatakuNox 13 points 3 years ago

Republicans. They love to tell the "others" how to live their lives. Remember, there always must be a enemy or persons to fight or oppress. No one is safe, no matter who you are your demographic is on the chopping block, their just busy attacking the most recent emancipated group. Today is trans people and women, tomorrow will be the rest of LGBTQ+, after that Irish and jew.

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Catoblepas 15 points 3 years ago

Skin color is probably a factor here. It was only a few years ago that a video was making the rounds of a teenage wrestler being forced to cut his dreads or forfeit a match, and pretty much every year at least a few stories make the rounds about black and native kids being told their hair style is inappropriate and they won't be allowed to walk on stage at their graduation unless they cut it.

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corroded 4 points 3 years ago

I agree that it's quite likely racism is the problem in this instance. My point is that schools should under no circumstances be telling students how they need to wear their hair; apparently this school has a dress code that stipulates hear length. Schools exist to give students the knowledge they need to be successful once they reach the age of 18. They should not be policing how the students groom themselves or dress; that should be up to the parents. There should not be a "dress code" in the first place, outside of "don't show up to school naked."

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Ensign_Crab 2 points 3 years ago

Skin color is probably a factor here.

Skin color is the only factor here.

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totallynotarobot 25 points 3 years ago

What is an "in-school suspension?"

Like you sit in a corner staring at the wall from 8-3?

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squirmy_wormy 33 points 3 years ago
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totallynotarobot 20 points 3 years ago

TIL thanks. Sounds grim.

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isthingoneventhis 18 points 3 years ago

The American schooling system is basically formulated to prep you for a 9-5 job by simulating miserable working conditions, general misery, and the ever present threat of violence in some form or fashion.

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blueskiesoc 14 points 3 years ago

Not every state. This is Texas. I'm in California and my kid went to school with shoulder length hair that was half blue. My relatives in Texas kept asking what the school was doing about it. There's nothing on the books about hair and the principal said it looked cool. Hair has always been a control issue in bible thumping communities, which I thankfully am no longer around.

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sederx 6 points 3 years ago

Seems formulates to prepare you for jail...

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sederx 9 points 3 years ago

The US are fucked up

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Marcbmann 3 points 3 years ago

Yeah. In my experience you're still getting all of your classwork and you're getting instruction. But you're isolated from your peers.

In this instance especially it's fucking stupid. But in theory his education is not being completely interrupted by this bullshit

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squirmy_wormy 2 points 3 years ago
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Marcbmann 1 point 3 years ago

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to impact an individuals education. The kind of kids who get in trouble are not going to be set on the straight and narrow by being left at home alone all day.

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kamen 18 points 3 years ago

Wow. I can't believe it's 2023 and people are getting hung up about how someone's hair looks like.

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NickwithaC 21 points 3 years ago

It's not the hair...

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elbarto777 3 points 3 years ago
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phillaholic 11 points 3 years ago

I’m really curious how this isn’t simply unconstitutional based on Bostock v. Clayton County. I’ve yet to see any news source being it up. This was the case the protects a gay person being fired for being gay in they you cannot say it’s wrong to be attracted to women as a women but ok for a man. You’re discriminating based on sex. Therefore if the hair length is ok for girls, it has to be ok for boys.

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BossDj 4 points 3 years ago

Barber's Hill should absolutely have a hair related dress code. And a red and white striped pole

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