A Texas school district superintendent defended the continued suspension of a Black student over his locs hairstyle in a full-page newspaper ad, paid for by an education foundation.
Darryl George has been suspended repeatedly by the Barbers Hill Independent School District for his hair. The teen’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit saying the punishment violates the CROWN Act, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” which became law in Texas in September.
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However, photos of George show him wearing his hair up in a way that does not reach below his ears.
The ad that appeared Sunday in the Houston Chronicle was written by district superintendent Greg Poole.
“Being an American requires conformity with the positive benefit of unity,” he stated, referencing strict codes at the military academies.
“We have taken the highly unusual step of seeking a declaratory judgment in state district court to verify our interpretation,” Poole went on to write.
The family of George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in the southeast Texas town of Mont Belvieu, filed the lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott and State Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas Southern District Court, arguing that they failed to enforce the law outlawing discrimination based on hairstyles.
Pool alleged that the family’s lawyer said she wants to “bankrupt” the school district and its leaders during the legal proceedings.
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Poole’s letter in the ad says the boy moved to the district from one that allows longer hair and every family has to sign an agreement to follow the district rules.
“Ultimately, this is an issue of local control and deciding who should be setting the policies, goals and expectations of our school district,” Poole wrote.
The Messenger has reached out to the Barbers Hill Education Foundation, which paid for the ad, for a comment on the advertisement.
* Original Article:
https://themessenger.com/news/texas-superintendent-black-student-locs-hair-punishment-lawsuit
