Darryl George: Texas judge rules against Black teen's hair discrimination case

Galveston, Texas - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Darryl George, a Black student in Texas who said his high-school officials had discriminated against him based on his hair.

A Black teen named Darryl George who was suspended from Barbers Hill High School in Texas last August has seen his lawsuit against hair discrimination dismissed.
A Black teen named Darryl George who was suspended from Barbers Hill High School in Texas last August has seen his lawsuit against hair discrimination dismissed.  © Screenshot/X/@barbers_hillhs

"Not everything that is undesirable, annoying, or even harmful amounts to a violation of the law, much less a constitutional problem," US District Court Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown wrote in his ruling, saying the plaintiffs "have not shown a persistent, widespread practice of disparate, race-based enforcement" of the school's hair policy.

George (18) missed most of his the 2023-2024 school year after Barbers Hill High School, outside Houston, punished him on grounds his hairstyle violates a dress code, subjecting him to over a month of in-school suspension before sending him to an alternative education program.

The teen wore his hair in locs twisted and secured to the side of his head, which school officials said would infringe upon hair length restrictions if let down.

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George and his mother, Darresha, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school district, school officials, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

They accused the school district of violating the CROWN Act, a state law banning race-based hair discrimination.

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The George family's only claim upheld in Tuesday's ruling was an accusation of gender discrimination, as the school district has failed to clearly outline why female students may wear long hair but male students may not.

"Because the District does not provide any reason for the sex-based distinctions in its dress code, the claim survives this initial stage," Brown determined.

The decision came after another Texas judge ruled in February that the school district's enforcement of its hair policy against George did not violate the CROWN Act.

"It means a lot to me. It's my roots, you know. It's how I feel closer to my people, closer to my ancestors," George has previously said of his hairstyle. "I started my dreads for a reason, and that's just to feel closer to my people."

Cover photo: Screenshot/X/@barbers_hillhs

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