A Texas school has punished a Black student over his hairstyle for months.

Della said:
I love it Patty! I never called it unkempt, that was my college teachers (college, yet!) That guy in the mall seemed to think I could brush out my frizz. Talking about this made me go in the bathroom and brush my hair real hard (feels good) but now it looks like this.

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Exactly. I have to use a comb or a plastic brush . If I use a regular brush it looks like this. Iā€™m not overly fond of curling gels. It feels like dried egg whites . Oh the joys of. lol.Note: this photo is NOT me. Iā€™ve never had my photo taken with it being as frizzy
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PeppermintPatty said:
This to you is unkept? Seriously.
My hair is thick and curly. Iā€™m talking ringlets. On a hot humid day it had a life of its own.
The only time I was hassled about it was during picture taking. I was told to comb out my curls!
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The CROWN law in question specifically exists to prevent discrimination based on what your hair does naturally. So you shouldnā€™t have been shamed about ringlets and the defendant should not be punished for having Afro hair. Short of using chemicals to straighten it there isnā€™t much that can be done. Perhaps he could shave it off but some have skin tgat is too sensitive fit repeated shaving.
 
MarkD said:
The CROWN law in question specifically exists to prevent discrimination based on what your hair does naturally. So you shouldnā€™t have been shamed about ringlets and the defendant should not be punished for havin Afro hair. Short using chemicals to straighten it there isnā€™t much that can be done. Perhaps he could shave it off but some have skin tgat is too sensitive fit repeated shaving.
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Exactly. Unless his hair is a danger to himself or anyone else, they should leave him alone. Hair straightening products are often unhealthy. People with extra frizzy / curly hair have a hard enough time as it is. When this thread started I was expecting to see some kid with outrageously unkept hair which isnā€™t the case at all. In reality, this boy has very well kept hair. He should not be getting hassled.
 
On the subject of discrimination.. of course there's always 3 sides to a story... but today in the news...

A black father has said he was refused service at an arts and crafts store when buying paint for his son because staff allegedly assumed he would undertake an 'incidence of graffiti'.

Louis Gray, from Cardiff Wales, said he was refused service at his local Hobbycraft store on Saturday when trying to buy spray paint with his four-year-old son so that he could have a bike helmet in 'a new colour to be like his idol'.

Mr Gray alleges he was surrounded by three members of staff ā€” one who was apparently 'wearing a bodycam to record the transaction' and one who 'waved his hands in the air' to signal more staff.

Commenting on the incident, he said: 'I did not raise my voice once, I just wore my blackness.'

In an email to Mr Gray, Hobbycraft apologised for his 'recent experience' and said the reason why he was refused service was because he could not provide ID for an age restricted product.
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Mr Gray added: 'I was buying spray paint, to ironically spray my 4-year-old's bike helmet a new colour to be like his idol. You need to be 16 to buy spray paint in the UK, 16! Cool I accept that, but that's in place to stop 'incidences of graffiti', in my opinion very different to gambling and alcohol.'

Mr Gray believes he was 'racially profiled' by staff at the store and refused service based on the colour of his skin and because he was wearing a 'Nike tracksuit and Yeezys'.

He said: 'It was the first time I have experienced racial profiling in front of my child. Itā€™s something I always thought I could protect him from, however today, it was stolen from me. I was judged in front of him, I had to stay strong and keep my head up in the face of adversity.'

In an email to Mr Gray, Hobbycraft said: 'We would once again like to apologise for your recent experience in our store, we have a zero tolerance approach to racism here at Hobbycraft and this is not how we want any of our customers to feel. As an employer we are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for our colleagues and customers, and therefore take your feedback very seriously.

'We are continuing to investigate this with our Newport store team. Your situation involved the purchase of an age restricted product which requires age verification, meaning all colleagues are trained to ask for ID should they believe the customer is under the age of 25. As you were unable to share ID with our colleagues, they were unfortunately unable to authorise the sale.
 
Nope, he certainly shouldn't be getting hassled. He's a very good looking young man and his hair looks super on him. I think it was a huge mistake to name racism in this... they should have filed that lawsuit against the dress code of the school. I pasted parts of that code in this thread... he obviously is against regulations... because of the length of his hair and NOT the color of his skin. It's a rule that shouldn't exist in 2024.

A student's bits and pieces hanging out... skirts showing the nether-region with just a slight movement... those are dress code issues, not the length of hair in either girls OR boys.
 
hollydolly said:
'We are continuing to investigate this with our Newport store team. Your situation involved the purchase of an age restricted product which requires age verification, meaning all colleagues are trained to ask for ID should they believe the customer is under the age of 25. As you were unable to share ID with our colleagues, they were unfortunately unable to authorise the sale.
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Argh. Yeah... we have age restricted things here, too... just show the stinkin' ID! Last month.... last MONTH at age 66, Walmart had to ID me for a bottle of White Out liquid paper. I just laughed and said "Ah, I look under 18, eh?" and the guy laughed back and said, "well ya never know!" I would have never stood there and refused to show my ID and make a stink, call it age discrimination, and plaster the story all over social media. It would make me look like a fool!
 
Army regulations for female hair:
Not Permitted for Women
  • Hair that interferes with the ability to wear headgear or protective equipment.
  • Dyes, tints, or bleaches that do not match a natural hair color.
  • Steel hair picks.
  • Trendy and exaggerated hairstyles, including shaved portions of the scalp or designs cut into your hair.
  • Loose hair (while in uniform)
 
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CallMeKate said:
Argh. Yeah... we have age restricted things here, too... just show the stinkin' ID! Last month.... last MONTH at age 66, Walmart had to ID me for a bottle of White Out liquid paper. I just laughed and said "Ah, I look under 18, eh?" and the guy laughed back and said, "well ya never know!" I would have never stood there and refused to show my ID and make a stink, call it age discrimination, and plaster the story all over social media. It would make me look like a fool!
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same here.. we often have to present ID when buying alcohol or tobacco goods.. and I've told this before.. when one customer who was clearly in his 50's was told at the checkout that the cashier would have to call the supervisor for an ID check.. he was annoyed at started berating her, only to be told the ID check was for the cashier who was under 21..
 
The pic in the article shows his hair put up tight. The school's complaint is he is wearing it in "long locs". I think the article should have included a picture of his "long locs"

Looking at pics of "long locs"

This Google search shows women. The style used by the women if used by the student, I can see where the school's policy is not being followed.

long locs hairstyles - Google Search

IMO this isn't a race issue.
 
Naturally said:
There are those who follow laws and rules and those who don't and may never will.

When I was in the 10th grade, 3 boys were expelled (following several suspensions) because they refused to cut their hair within school grooming standards ... hair not below the collar. They had very long hair.

The 3 boys were white. Was that racism or failure to follow appropriate school standards at the time?
That was at a city public school. The boys transferred and completed their high school education at a county school.
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Yup. That did happen. A good fried of mine was expelled and he was white. It was our graduating year from middle school too but no exceptions were made.
 
Knight said:
The pic in the article shows his hair put up tight. The school's complaint is he is wearing it in "long locs". I think the article should have included a picture of his "long locs"

Looking at pics of "long locs"

This Google search shows women. The style used by the women if used by the student, I can see where the school's policy is not being followed.

long locs hairstyles - Google Search

IMO this isn't a race issue.
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No itā€™s not a race issue; itā€™s a sexist issue.
Why should girls be allowed to wear their hair long and not boys? We donā€™t need a pic of the boy to know these rules are unfair. This isnā€™t a woodworking or machinery class.
 
In the link to the story, there is a picture and his
hair which is tied up, is dreadlocks, so yes it is
racist to deny him an education.

Dreadlocks can look very dirty sometimes, but
in the picture, his hair looked clean and shiny.

Leave him alone, or he will develop bad habits
and regard all white people as racists.

Mike.
 
Mike said:
In the link to the story, there is a picture and his
hair which is tied up, is dreadlocks, so yes it is
racist to deny him an education.
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That same article says that the dress code includes tied up hair. This is not racist. He didn't follow dress code. The dress code is very unfair in my eyes, but this isn't about race. And he was sent to an alternative campus without the same dress code, so it's not denying an education. It's all in the article. The accusations you quoted came from his mother in the lawsuit. She should have sued to have the regulation changed instead.
 
When my brother was in the military, he had to keep his hair super super short. His hair is actual ringlets. If he let it grow out at all he was told his hair was not groomed properly.

Prior to going in the military he went to Israel. He had grown his hair out and had a beard. I remember a picture of him sitting on a stone wall. Change his clothing and he looked like he could have walked out of the bible.
 
"The decision [in 2020] from the U.S. District Court in Houston overturns the grooming policy from the Barbers Hill ISD. Earlier this summer, despite criticism from advocates who described the restriction as racist, the Barbers Hill board of trustees voted to keep the policy."

"In a February interview [2020] with The Texas Tribune, Christina Beeler, a former attorney with the Juvenile and Capital Advocacy Project at the University of Houston Law Center, called the Barbers Hill cases ā€œthe worst she has ever seen.ā€ Beeler pored through old Barbers Hill yearbooks, coming up with photos of white students with long hair.

ā€œWhite male students aren't being held to same standard,ā€ Beeler said. ā€œItā€™s so clear that white male students and black students are being treated differently.ā€"

Seems like BHISD has had issues w both policy and inconsistent application of that policy recently and enjoys the notoriety of being viewed as racists.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
No itā€™s not a race issue; itā€™s a sexist issue.
Why should girls be allowed to wear their hair long and not boys? We donā€™t need a pic of the boy to know these rules are unfair. This isnā€™t a woodworking or machinery class.
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I understand your thought that this isn't about race. Since I don't know the wording in the school policy I can't say the policy is sexist. I doubt long hair for females would be in the policy but since I don't know I'll just leave it at not race related.
 

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