Houston civil rights activists are outraged after Barbers Hill High School suspended a Black student for wearing his hair in locs.
These leaders and the student’s mother believe the school broke the law — and discriminated against the teen based on his hair texture and/or his choice of hairstyle, which are historically associated with race.
The school says the junior violated the school district’s dress code.
“Male students’ hair must not extend below the top of a T-shirt collar or be gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a T-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down,” the dress code policy says.
Darryl George’s mother, Darresha George, says her son had received warnings from the school, including multiple disciplinary action notes, and was placed on in-school suspension for wearing his hair in locs. Eventually, the school suspended her son, not recognizing the newly passed CROWN ACT that prohibits such actions.
In May 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott enacted the CROWN Act (House Bill 567), which bans race-based hair discrimination in workplaces, schools, and housing policies. The law took effect on Sept. 1, making one of 20 states to adopt this legislation.
The 17-year-old was suspended within a week of the act going into action.
The school records show that Darryl was placed on in-school suspension for weeks in the past because his hair, when unpinned, is longer than his eyebrows. However, this was not the only disciplinary violation, the records show.
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