Darryl George, a 19-year-old Black student, has spent nearly a year suspended from school because of his dreadlocks, and a US judge recently denied his request to stop the punishment.
This ruling came after George asked the court to allow him back into his Texas high school while his lawsuit against the school continues.
According to the BBC, George’s dreadlocks are important to his culture, but the school said his hair broke their rules, which say hair can’t go past the top of a T-shirt collar or cover the eyebrows or ears.
George and his family refused to cut his dreadlocks, saying they hold cultural meaning for the Black community. As a result, the school took harsh action, removing him from regular classes and placing him in an uncomfortable in-school suspension.
His mother told the BBC that he had to sit on a stool for eight hours a day, which caused him back pain. Later, he was moved to a program outside the school.
Despite the punishment, George returned to the school this year, but after just two days, he was again put in in-school suspension, forcing him to transfer schools.
Mr. George and his mother have filed a federal lawsuit, arguing that his suspension breaks the Crown Act, a Texas law that protects people from being punished for their natural hair or protective styles like dreadlocks.
The Crown Act came into effect in September 2023, as the BBC explains, and aims to stop race-based hair discrimination in schools and workplaces.
However, earlier this year, a state judge ruled that the school’s punishment of George did not break this law. The case is still ongoing.
BBC explains that this situation shows the struggles many Black Americans still face when it comes to expressing their cultural identity through their hairstyles.
Despite the Crown Act, which is meant to prevent these problems, people like George are still being penalized for their hair.
Credit : BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wn91xn87zo