Just days after Texas banned racial discrimination based on hairstyles, a Black teen was suspended after his high school said his locs broke the dress code. Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School, was handed an in-school suspension last week due to his twisted hairstyle falling below his eyebrows and ears. According to the Associated Press, he returned to school on Monday with the same hairstyle and was given an identical penalty by the district. The situation likely violates Texas’ CROWN Act, which stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair” and prevents schools and employers from punishing people for sporting hairstyles such as Afros, locs, braids, and Bantu knots. The law went into effect Sept. 1. George’s mother, Darresha George, told the Associated Press that in their family, hair holds cultural importance. “Our hair is where our strength is, that’s our roots. He has his ancestors locked into his hair,” she added. Darresha later claimed, “The administration [is] being prejudiced toward Black hairstyles, toward Black culture.” But Greg Poole, the district superintendent, said the dress code teaches students to “give up something for the betterment of the whole” and that schools “need more teaching [of] sacrifice.”
