MONT BELVIEU, Texas — Supporters of a Barbers Hill High School student suspended because of his hair say they still plan to file a federal lawsuit. When we talked to them Friday afternoon, they said they were in a strategy meeting.
The debate is over Darrell George's hair. The district said that it is too long. Supporters say that his style is protected by the Crown Act.
“Barbers Hill, they're very strong-willed. I’ll give them that. They’re very stubborn,” former Barbers Hill High School student DeAndre Arnold said. “They will do what they want to do, regardless of what anybody tells them, whether it be the Crown Act, whether it be me, whether it be anybody. They’re going to do what they want to do unless they're made to do it.”
Arnold should know. In 2020, he, too, was suspended over his hair. That helped trigger passage of the Crown Act. It bans discrimination against hair commonly associated with race, like braids, locs and twists. Fast forward to today and 17-year-old Darryl George, who pins up his long hair to comply with length regulations.
But the district said its dress code prohibits hair below the eyebrows or below the earlobes when let down. State Representative Rhetta Andrews Bowers, who authored the Crown Act, said the Barbers Hill is attempting to find loopholes to skirt the law and perpetuate hair discrimination.
This week, Barbers Hill asked for a declaratory judgment from the court, saying, “Although we believe the law does not govern hair length, we are asking the judicial system of Texas to interpret.”
Meanwhile, George has been in in-school suspension for weeks, according to his mother. That prompted press conferences and a complaint to the school and the Texas Education Agency alleging, “torture and unethical hazing” during suspension and for having to sit on a small stool and eat cold sandwiches. As for Arnold, who inspired the Crown Act, he has these words for Darryl George.
“When somebody is trying to trample on his appearance, how he wants to express himself, his culture, whatever it may be, they’re trying to suppress it,” Arnold said.
CPS has confirmed that it was asked to and is investigating the in-school suspension. They said their findings will be turned over to the school board and state agencies for later released to the public.