Just when we thought that suspending students over their hairstyles would be left in 2023, a Texas superintendent has decided to take it to another level. After Barbers Hill High School student Darryl George was controversially suspended multiple times over his dreadlocks, the school’s superintendent has now reportedly came out in support of the school’s actions in a very public way.
In an full-page ad taken out in the Houston Chronicle, superintendent Greg Poole justified the school’s response to George’s dreadlocks as a matter of being American. And, according to Poole, being American “requires conformity.”
George was suspended the same week the CROWN ACT went into effect, which is the law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination in Texas workplaces, schools, and housing policies. Yet despite the suspension, George’s family has fought back against his punishment—filing a civil rights lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbot and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Through all this, the school district has stood by its decision, sighting the dress code, which states, “Male students’ hair will not extend, at any time, below the eyebrows or below the ear lobes. 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.”
However, George styles his locs in a way that allows his hair to not go below his ears. Yet according to Poole, George is simply not conforming enough.
Taking a shot at the editorial board of the Houston Chronicle, Poole also buttressed his views on conformity and Black hair by comparing them to the previous COVID-19 restrictions.
“How poignantly ironic that the Chronicle criticizes limited dress code conformity that is correlated to student success yet wholeheartedly sanctioned complete face-mask wearing conformity that is still questioned today as an adequate defense against COVID-19.”
The school has not officially commented on the ad placed by Poole.