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

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.
 
I also attended a Southern Baptist High School where boys were required to wear their hair above their ears and I complied. Everyone was white. But that was almost 50 years ago. ;) I'm sure we both grew up in mostly White communities, but times have changed.

Also, this kid's hair is in compliance because it may be long but it is always up on his head. And yes, IMO it is racism but we can agree to disagree. We can fall back on policies, but in the bigger picture why should we deny someone a decent education due to the length of their hair?
 

On a similar but different note and at the same city public school ...

In the 9th grade there was a new kid who'd just enrolled after his dad transferred in the military from California to the Air Force base in town. Soon after his arrival and at the very start of one of the Junior High classes, the teacher informed the new guy that he would have to cut his hair. It was too long and did not conform with school grooming standards.

The guy had a two word response to the shocked teacher ... "Surf's up" ... and without another word, he walked straight out of class and off the school grounds, never to be seen again. I imagine it was a cultural shock for him and he wanted nothing to do with it. He wasn't suspended or expelled, he just up and walked away. I wondered then and I wonder now what happened with that guy ... did he return to California or what? As far as I could ever tell, he never attended either of the local county schools after leaving the city public school.

Regardless, I felt at the time so long ago and still do, that the focus should be on education. Should have been at that city public school I attended and should be in Texas. There are so many kids who drop out or never finish a fundamental education for one reason or another as it is. No need to go looking for excuses to rule over someone who's struggles no one may know ... as long as they aren't breaking the law and not harming anyone.
 
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I don't know whether the policy fits the definition of 'racist' on its face, because the rule originates in the 1960's when so many of our boys were deciding to try long hair styles much to the chagrin of their parents and other authority figures, but the impact is definitely disportionate now, and more to the point this policy is dumb, stupid, silly. sexist, arbitrary and it's enforcement it may be expensive.

Nobody is winning here. The kid feels targeted, and he's losing his education and the school looks foolish and meanspirited. There plenty of very important places to draw a line in the sand and stand firm in educational discipline, including dress code, but the length of a student's hair is not one of them.
 
is anyone else childishly amused by the name of the school - Barbers Hill. :ROFLMAO:

I'm not sure about racism - in Australia that would be sex discrimination though unless there is also a requirement for girls to have short hair.

Can see no reason for either myself - as long as tied up for safety reasons.
 
First I'll say that I don't consider this racism because if there would be a dress code on... say length of a girl's skirt, and the school confronts a girl who's wearing a skirt much too short, it wouldn't be racism no matter *what* color the girl is. The only way this would be racism is if the hair regulation was made *after* Darryl enrolled. A school can't give special privileges to one student just to avoid accusations of racism. The rule was already there and it's not "targeting" a student who doesn't follow the regs... it's enforcing them. Sadly it's just the way things are these days and it needs to change.

Secondly, I think Darryl's hair looks great and there shouldn't *be* a hair regulation as long as a student's hair is clean and under control. And yes, @January , I had to smile at the "Barbers" thing, too. 😊

Bottom line, I think this school's "hair policy" is unfair and shouldn't exist in the form it's in. I think Darryl looks fine. And I think that if his suspensions and other "punishments" are indeed for only his hair and not other behavior, this definitely needs to be looked into.
 
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As I often do when I read a news story, I have dug deeper. There's usually more to every story. In this one, a student started a case against the same school in 2020 and it was actually about the hair policy. Not so sure about this one. This quote credit is: Bobby Jones via Quora:

"The other students’ cases actually involved problems with the hair policy. Darryl George was not sent to alternative school because of his hair, even though he claims that he was. According to the Houston Chronicle, George was punished because of violation of campus and classroom policies. While the school district cannot comment on what policies he violated because of confidentiality laws, the superintendent of Barbers Hill ISD wrote an op-ed in the Chronicle stating that George’s hair was not the reason he was sent to alternative school. This week, a state district judge in Chambers County sided with the school district when addressing George’s and his mother’s charges of racism and violation of the CROWN Act."
 
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Yes, it sounds more like his mother was using him to try and win a law suit.

I've had people complaining about my hair all my life, but I've never deliberately broken any rules. In college one of the women teachers called me into her office to tell me one of the male teachers had complained about my hair as being "unkempt." It was actually as kempt as I could make it. Washed and conditioned every morning, blown dry and then set on large rollers for a while to try and calm it down a little. I wore it long, mid back, and parted in the middle like many of the other girls but it has a natural frizzy quality many people hate.

One of my first jobs was as a waitress. I wore it skinned back in a bun, but when I stood in the light you could still see a halo of frizz and my boss complained about it. Other than taking a tip from Alfalfa and slicking it down with a handful of lard there's nothing I can do about it.

The last time anyone made a big issue over it was in the mid eighties when my date and I were walking through the mall with another couple. Suddenly the other man suddenly stopped, turned around , put his hands on my hair and pulled it back asking if I couldn't brush it or something. The more I brush it the more electricity and the wilder it gets.

Women I know are always recommending conditioners to me.

So I understand how the boy feels when people seem to want his hair to be a completely different texture, but length is something we can control, and if it's part of the rules we have to conform if we want to stay.

Hair like mine, as kempt as it's going to get:
Light-Blonde-Hairstyles.jpg
 
I was a white kid in school. I had longer hair and was nagged by school officials and mother to cut my hair. I did it one time, and then refused after that. Back then, you had to wear or grow your hair, the way other people wanted you to. I found that offensive. I didn't tell others how long or short to have their hair. So they should have minded their own business.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Crazy stuff. If girls can wear their hair long, why can’t the boys? They can’t even wear it in a ponytail or bun. How unfair. The world is now regressing. Such a shame!
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I agree, Patty. I think if a lawsuit was in order here, it should have been about the hair policy itself (like the suing student did in 2020) and not about whether or not enforcing the regulation was racism. @PeppermintPatty
 
Well ... 18 & a junior says a lot. Also, doesn't the school have the right to set the 'dress' code ? IMO they do. Is this racist ? ... well if you want it to be , then it will be.
 
rgp said:
Well ... 18 & a junior says a lot. Also, doesn't the school have the right to set the 'dress' code ? IMO they do. Is this racist ? ... well if you want it to be , then it will be.
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No I don't think schools have a right to dictate hair length. That isnt the same as a dress code or uniform that you only wear to school and doesn't change you.
If girls can have long hair so can boys - and both can be required to have it tied up for safety - but like uniforms, that isnt a permanent change.
 
seadoug said:
Also, this kid's hair is in compliance because it may be long but it is always up on his head. And yes, IMO it is racism but we can agree to disagree. We can fall back on policies, but in the bigger picture why should we deny someone a decent education due to the length of their hair?
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Not in compliance.... the school's policy states:

The Barbers Hill school district's dress code says male students’ hair cannot extend below the eyebrows, earlobes or the top of a T-shirt collar. Male students’ hair also may not “be gathered or worn in a style” that would allow the hair to fall to these lengths “when let down,” the policy states.

Source is the article in the link you posted.
 
Della said:
Yes, it sounds more like his mother was using him to try and win a law suit.

I've had people complaining about my hair all my life, but I've never deliberately broken any rules. In college one of the women teachers called me into her office to tell me one of the male teachers had complained about my hair as being "unkempt." It was actually as kempt as I could make it. Washed and conditioned every morning, blown dry and then set on large rollers for a while to try and calm it down a little. I wore it long, mid back, and parted in the middle like many of the other girls but it has a natural frizzy quality many people hate.

One of my first jobs was as a waitress. I wore it skinned back in a bun, but when I stood in the light you could still see a halo of frizz and my boss complained about it. Other than taking a tip from Alfalfa and slicking it down with a handful of lard there's nothing I can do about it.

The last time anyone made a big issue over it was in the mid eighties when my date and I were walking through the mall with another couple. Suddenly the other man suddenly stopped, turned around , put his hands on my hair and pulled it back asking if I couldn't brush it or something. The more I brush it the more electricity and the wilder it gets.

Women I know are always recommending conditioners to me.

So I understand how the boy feels when people seem to want his hair to be a completely different texture, but length is something we can control, and if it's part of the rules we have to conform if we want to stay.

Hair like mine, as kempt as it's going to get:
Light-Blonde-Hairstyles.jpg
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This to you is unkept? Seriously.
My hair is thick and curly. I’m talking ringlets. On a hot humid day it has 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! THIS is my hair. It’s no longer coloured from henna.
IMG_2334.jpeg
 
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PeppermintPatty said:
This to you is unkept? Seriously.
My hair is thick and curly. I’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!
View attachment 332001
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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.

635515816788120009--9-static-electricity.jpg
 
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