Racial Discrimination: A Texas School Districts Fight over Hair Policies

Now this is interesting. Darryl George‘s story has made national news, as again one Texas School District is called into question over their school policies on hair. I’m left wondering what the regulation is for girls in the district. Are the policies the same?

If they are not, the district could be facing some serious repercussions. In the world we live in today, not only could they be hit with the discriminatory treatment by the CROWN Act, they also could be hit with assuming the students gender as well. The Crown Act , which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”, was established in 2019. It prohibits race based hair discrimination in schools and the workplace.

I also don’t understand why the Title VII Act does not cover this. The act “outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex,and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accommodations, and employment discrimination”. I would think that race would cover hair and color.

From what I read in the school policy, the parents would be correct. The students hairstyle does not violate the school’s policies.
Two other students, De’Andre Arnold and Kaden Bradford, from the same school and district faced the same issue in 2019. De’Andre Arnold was even told by a District staff member that “His hair did not reflect the district’s image of excellence and it might be a problem in high school.”. The superintendent had said “the dress code is legal and teaches students to conform as a sacrifice benefiting everyone”. SMH….
In 2020 after both students filed suits, a Federal Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the policies were indeed discriminatory. So I’m very surprised this district is pulling this mess again.
I don’t see a problem with the students hair being in braids or dreads, as long as they are maintained, not in a design, and kept up during school hours. They shouldn’t have to cut their hair. Many Black students come from places like Trinidad and Africa where it’s their culture to have dreads or braids.

In fact, dreadlocks have been found on ancient Egyptian mummies, African people braided their hair to distinguish between various tribes, religion, age, and position; and box braids were viewed as a way to show status of wealth, power, and a way to improve social status. They can be dated back to 3500 BC.

There are many cultures that don’t believe in cutting their hair, American Indians, Mexican Indians, Canadian First Nations People, sects of Orthodox Judaism, Rastafarianism, Islam, and Sikhism are not supposed to cut their hair because of cultural or religious beliefs.

So does this mean in order to reflect excellence, Black students hair must be like White peoples hair?!? Black people hair will never be like white peoples hair! Heck, by their standards even my own hair back when I was in high school would seem to violate their policy! I kept my hair in braids most of the time for maintenance reasons, as our slave ancestors did and many others both male and female.

Is this another way of assimilating various people and cultures to “White American Standard”? After all, that’s what they did to the Native American tribes when they made them “civilized” in the 1902 Order. Are we looking at another type of assimilation? Would people be ok with it, if it were the other way around and the kids were forced to “conform” to the African culture of braids and dreads? I highly doubt it! White folks would be s pitching a fit and suing!

I’m sorry, I know a lot of people on the Right will disagree, but this, I think it is discriminatory and going too far. The kids hair from what I can see is well kept, pull back or braided back above the collar, no designs in it, and not a distraction or danger to anyone. Their hairstyle does not determine excellence nor how smart one is. They are there to learn, not attend beauty school!

It sounds like the School District is just exchanging words and terms here. What used to be described as assimilation and civilizing a people or culture, has now been transformed into what it is to be viewed as excellence. That in itself is teaching young Black children that their culture doesn’t matter, and they must conform to White people’s standards in order to be educated and good enough for society.

Didn’t we learn anything from the 1950 Clark Doll Test?!? Their experiment showed how Black children are already predisposed to self hatred, the feeling of inferiority, and damaged self esteem. We have come a long way as a country since the 1950’s when it comes to racism and discrimination. By the looks of this, we still have a ways to go.

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