Title: Texas Governor and Attorney General Sued Over Black Student’s Hairstyle Suspension
Subtitle: Civil rights lawsuit accuses state leaders of failing to enforce anti-discrimination law
Date: September 24, 2022
A civil rights lawsuit has been filed against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the state’s attorney general, alleging that they failed to enforce a new state law that outlaws discrimination on hairstyles. The lawsuit was brought by the family of Darryl George, a Black student who was suspended from Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, over his dreadlocks.
The district’s dress and grooming code prohibits male students’ hair from extending below the top of a t-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down. While the policy does not specifically ban dreadlocks or braids, George’s hairstyle, with twisted dreadlocks tied on top of his head, was deemed a violation by school officials.
George’s mother, along with the family’s attorney, argue that the teenager’s hairstyle does not violate the district’s policy and is instead an expression of his Black identity and culture. They filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, claiming that George’s ongoing suspension is a violation of Texas’ CROWN Act, a new law intended to prohibit discrimination based on hair texture or protective hairstyles associated with race.
The lawsuit alleges that Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton failed to enforce the law, which went into effect on September 1, a day after George was suspended. According to the lawsuit, the state leaders did not protect George’s constitutional and state rights and allowed the school district to violate the CROWN Act.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and an injunction to halt George’s suspension while the case is in federal court. Candice Matthews, national minister of politics for the New Black Panther Nation and spokesperson for George’s family, stated, “Time to bring the fight to Barbers Hill ISD. We’re going to drop the hammer of accountability in the face of racism.”
Both Governor Abbott and the attorney general have yet to respond to requests for comment.
The CROWN Act, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” bans race-related hair discrimination. It is intended to address educational and employment discrimination against Black people. Several hairstyles and hair textures, including dreadlocks, cornrows, twists, and Afros, are protected by the act.
Texas is one of 24 states that have enacted a version of the CROWN Act, and a federal version passed in the U.S. House in March 2022 but was blocked by the Senate. State Representative Rhetta Bowers, who authored the bill, has called on the school district to revise its dress code to comply with the CROWN Act and end George’s suspension.
Notably, Barbers Hill High School has faced legal action in the past over its dress code. In 2020, two other Black male students, DeAndre Arnold and Kaden Bradford, sued the district when they were told to cut their hair. The students’ families argued that their natural hairstyles were an expression of their heritage. The lawsuit prompted Texas lawmakers to pass the CROWN Act.
The Texas Education Agency has launched an investigation into the allegations made by George’s mother and attorney. In response, the school district has filed its own lawsuit, seeking clarification from a judge regarding the legality of its policy.
As the case progresses, advocates for justice and equality hope for a swift resolution that will protect the rights of Black students and prevent discrimination based on hairstyles in educational institutions.