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John,
It’s happening again. Last week, Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, not only suspended student, DeAndre Arnold, for refusing to cut his dreadlocks, but threatened to bar him from attending his own graduation ceremony if he does not cut his hair.1 The school claims that DeAndre’s dreadlocks violate the school district’s dress code - but we know what this is really about. Yet another school district is creating a hostile environment for Black students by criminalizing the way they wear their hair. Their decision to target DeAndre continues a long-standing trend of harassing Black students with racist policies that discriminate against natural hairstyles. Not only should DeAndre’s suspension be reversed and he be allowed to participate in his graduation—but the school district needs to apologize and ensure that no other student faces this humiliation. That’s why we’re calling on Barbers Hill Independent School District Superintendent Greg Poole to create an anti-hair-discrimination policy to protect the Black students and families that the district serves.
Schools should be safe places where Black children can learn without fear of marginalization because of the way they wear their hair. Unfortunately, they have instead been places where learning stops because of the way they wear their hair. Last year, 6 year-old Clinton Stanley Jr. was sent home from A Book’s Christian Academy for having dreadlocks,2 and 11 year old Faith Finnedy was sent home from her school, Christ the King for wearing box braids.3 These policies shape the way Black kids see themselves and give permission to racist institutions and educators to discriminate against them without repercussion. DeAndre has said that he wears dreadlocks because they connect him to his family and his heritage. Any institution that is committed to his well-being should be encouraging that connection, not punishing it. Without an anti-hair discrimination policy in place, students like DeAndre will continue to be disrespected and degraded by the institutions that are supposed to nurture them.
Every day, Black folks are being robbed of employment opportunities, educational opportunities, and our dignity because employers and institutions can code their racism in dress code policies and concepts like ‘professionalism’ that were designed to keep us out. This conditioning starts early, shapes how we see ourselves, and fuels the narrative that our hair and our skin are embodiments of our oppression, when they are actually embodiments of our pride. Black people across the country, many of whom have had experiences in schools and workplaces just like DeAndre's, have been making their voices heard in the fight against hair discrimination. And it's working! It's because our community refuses to accept these kinds of injustices that three anti-hair-discrimination bills were passed in New York, California, and New Jersey last year. And with a recent federal anti-hair-discrimination bill being introduced to Congress for the first time in December, we're sending a clear message: We deserve to wear our hair in ways that feel celebratory of our personal power and who we are as a people. That's why we're counting on you to take action today to demand that Superintendent Greg Poole create an anti-hair-discrimination policy for the district and that he reverse DeAndre’s suspension immediately.
Until justice is real,
—Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Jade, Johnny, Future, Amanda, Evan, Imani, Samantha, Eesha, Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References:
- "Black Texas Teen told to cut his dreadlocks to walk graduation,” NBC News, January 22, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/195290?t=10&akid=40495%2E4731121%2E_jsSQ6
- “6 year old with dreadlocks banned from private school in Orange county,” Orlando Sentinel, August 14 2018, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163219?t=12&akid=40495%2E4731121%2E_jsSQ6
- “Louisiana girl sent home from school over braided hair extensions,” NBC News, August 22, 2018, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/163220?t=14&akid=40495%2E4731121%2E_jsSQ6
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