Updated as of 9/20/2023 at 1:48 p.m. ET
This Black Texas high school student and his family are not backing down.
After initially being suspended weeks ago because of the length of his dreadlocks, 17-year-old Darryl George was suspended again on Monday after returning from class.
This comes as he just finished serving his previous multi-week suspension for the exact same reason.
Allie Booker, the family’s attorney, told CNN that she suspects the school to attempt “put him out.” But they have no plans of allowing that to happen.
The George family is expected to meet with school officials on Wednesday.
See the original story below:
It’s back-to-school time for a lot of children across the country. But for one Texas student, his first few weeks in school have been ruined over a hairstyle that is not unique in the Black community.
Darryl George is a 17-year-old Black student at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas. While he should be spending most of his time in the classroom, he spent that time in in-school suspension because of his hairstyle, according to KTRK.
The junior wears locs and sports them in a ponytail style. Sounds normal right? Except that it violates the district’s dress code and as a result, the initial weeks of school for George have been spent away from his classmates. Those important hours of education and growth have been taken away because of hair.
What makes this more egregious is that George was suspended the same week Texas’ CROWN Act went into effect. Don’t know what that is? It’s a law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination in Texas workplaces, schools, and housing policies.
Other states such as Michigan just passed the law earlier this year. The law officially went into effect nearly two weeks ago on Sept. 1. The most ironic part about this situation is that a scenario that happened at Barbers Hill High School, George’s school, in 2020 where a student was told to cut his locs led to the passing of the CROWN Act in Texas.
So why the hell is George still spending his time in school away from his classmates because of a hairstyle? A district spokesperson told KTRK that their hair length rule doesn’t work in conflict with the CROWN Act and as a result, they can punish him for his hair.
The district’s dress code specifically 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.”
George was asked to cut his hair by school officials when he decided not to, he was placed under in-school suspension. If he doesn’t cut his hair by the end of the week, he could placed in an alternative school, according to CNN.
Despite the consequences, Darryl’s mother, Darresha George, is not surrendering and tells CNN that her son will not cut his hair and that her family will continue to battle the school’s hair policy.