Texas Judge Says Black Teenager’s Suspension Over Dreadlocks Doesn’t Violate CROWN Act

A judge in Texas said Thursday that a school’s suspension of a Black teenager because of his dreadlocks does not violate the CROWN Act, which forbids racial hair discrimination.

State District Judge Chap Cain sided with Barbers Hill High School and against 18-year-old Darryl George, who has been on in-school suspension for months because of the length of his hair.

George wears his dreadlocks on the top of his head, away from his face and neck, but the school adopted a rule that said a male’s student hair could not be below his eyebrows or ear lobes when let down.

In a statement to The Hill, the school said, “The Texas legal system has validated our position that the district’s dress code does not violate the CROWN Act and that the CROWN Act does not give students unlimited self-expression.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that affirmative action is a violation of the 14th Amendment and we believe the same reasoning will eventually be applied to the CROWN Act.”

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass) called Thursday’s decision “anti-Black” in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Greg Poole, superintendent of the Barbers Hill school district, previously told The Hill, “Hair length of male students is only constitutionally protected for Native American students. {snip}”

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