US Black Student Suspended for Growing Hair... Court Rules It Is Not Racial Discrimination

A ruling has been made that a school’s suspension of a Black student over long hair was not an act of racial discrimination.

According to major foreign media and Yonhap News on the 22nd (local time), Chief Judge Chapp Cain III of the Southern District Court of Texas ruled that Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, on the outskirts of Houston, did not violate the CROWN Act with the suspension imposed on the student.

Derril George (18), a Black student attending this school, was suspended from school for two weeks by the school authorities in August last year.

George wore his hair in locs, a hairstyle where the hair is braided and hangs down, and the reason given was that this hair covered his eyebrows and earlobes, violating the male student dress code set by the school district. Accordingly, George had to sit alone in a chair for eight hours a day at school for two weeks starting from the 31st of last month.

Deril Joji (left) and his mother
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

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In response, George argued, “The locs style is a common hairstyle enjoyed by curly-haired Black people, and suspending someone for this is tantamount to racial discrimination.” He also claimed, “Wearing locs makes me feel closer to my ancestors, and having locs is exactly who I am.”

George and his family filed a lawsuit in the Southern District Court of Texas against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the state Attorney General, among others. They claimed that the school’s suspension violated the CROWN Act.

The CROWN Act, which began in California in 2019, prohibits schools or employers from discriminating against people based on hair texture or hairstyles involving braids, knots, and similar styles. Texas became the 24th state to enact this law last September, following New York, New Jersey, and others.

However, the court stated in its ruling that “the CROWN Act does not include provisions protecting hair length.”

George and his family announced they would immediately appeal the ruling. His lawyer, Allen Booker, said, “We also plan to file an injunction lawsuit in federal court.” Candice Matthews, a spokesperson for George’s family, also reported that George asked as he left the courthouse, “Am I not allowed to receive an education because of my hair?”

Ron Reynolds, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives and one of the co-sponsors of the CROWN Act, said, “I am disappointed with this ruling.” He added, “Anyone familiar with locs knows that hair of a certain length is necessary,” and stated, “I will introduce a new version of the CROWN Act that includes specific provisions protecting hair length.”

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