Being a Black kid is hard enough. They don’t need discrimination for their hairstyles | Opinion
At times, being a Black child in America can be emotionally taxing.
On average, Black youth are more likely than their white peers to be locked up or killed, multiple studies have found. One prevailing thought: Access to a quality education after high school often helps even the playing field for young Black students.
But what happens when Black kids are suspended or expelled from elementary or secondary schools?
But the amount of social constructs a young person of color has to navigate in predominantly white settings are too many to list.
Don’t believe me? Ask Darryl George, a Black teen from Texas being sent to alternative school because he refused to cut his locs.
After reading about Darryl’s situation, I experienced a sobering moment of truth: It’s time to talk with my two teen children about their hair grooming style. But why should I have to?
Both wear their hair in locs, a hairstyle popular in Black culture. One, my 15-year-old son Giulian, sports mini twists, or baby locs, if you will. Over time, if maintained well, his curly coifs will surely grow longer.
The other, 13-year-old Emilee, has worn her hair in ropelike strands since she was 7. Her hair is mature and fully locked. Stretched out, the locs are about 12 to 18 inches long and are thick and neat. She hates when I stroke her hair. Oh, well. Touch is one of my love languages, Baby Em.
If either child was punished for their hairstyle, I would not know what recourse to take. No statewide law in Missouri or Kansas protects Black children from natural hair discrimination.
No federal protection exists, either.
To root out hair discrimination at the local level, Kansas City, Jackson County, and Lawrence adopted Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair or CROWN Act legislation.
Statehouses in Jefferson City and Topeka must follow suit. Next session, lawmakers in Missouri and Kansas must make it a priority to ensure minority children are free from discriminatory grooming policies in the workplace or educational settings.
If policy makers fail to act, the emotional well-being of my and others’ schoolchildren is at risk.
Texas already bans bias against hairdos
As a father of Black children, I’ve had a fair share of conversations with my kids about the realities of life. Being young and Black isn’t easy, I often tell them.
You have to outwork your peers, I remind them. This world owes you nothing, I say. When interacting with adults, be kind and respectful.
The birds and bees conversation about sex? Check. Well, sort of. Emilee is my youngest daughter. She wanted no parts of my theory about boys and dating. Good for her. And Dad, too.
And yes, I’ve had that talk with my three boys about interacting with law enforcement officers. The rules are simple: Be calm and polite; answer questions with yes or no and never, under any circumstances, run from an officer.
You don’t assault a cop nor do you try to take their weapon or vehicle, I say. Nothing good will come from that.
Even if you follow these principles, you may still end up with a ticket, in jail or worse, I advise them.
I’d admit, these types of interactions are exhausting. I won’t pretend that my young ones understand the life skills that I’m imparting on them. They’ll get it one day, I’m sure. The universe has a way of teaching us all valuable lessons along the way.
But this thing with policing Black hair is wrong, even outlawed in Texas, Darryl’s home state. But the discriminatory practice is still pervasive.
And kids like Tyree Bayan, 21, of Kansas City should never have to experience being singled out for their locs.
Tyree is a general studies major at the University of Missouri. Five years ago, he was denied a job opportunity at Cool Crest Family Fun Center in Independence.
He was more than qualified for the position, the hiring manager told Tyree, a junior at Mizzou. His hairstyle didn’t meet the supervisor’s approval, according to the student.
“He told me I couldn’t have dreadlocks,” Tyree recalled during a recent phone interview.
These days, Tyree’s long locs flow down to his back with ease, he said.
“I knew that was a company I didn’t want to work for. I don’t need to be in a place where I’m not wanted,” he said.
Amen, Tyree. Amen.
Personal grooming is First Amendment-protected expression
Why are officials at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, punishing Darryl, a 17-year-old Black student for how he styles his hair anyway?
Personal freedom and expression is a fundamental right guaranteed by the First Amendment. Besides, Texas’ new CROWN Act legislation protects the right for Black school children to wear braids, twists, locs and other styles favored in Black culture.
Barbers Hills school district officials should know better. In 2020, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund sued the district on behalf of two schoolchildren for its hair and grooming policy. That case is still making its way through the legal system, according to Patricia Okonta, co-counsel for the fund.
In a preliminary ruling, a federal judge determined the district’s policy targeted minority students and was illegal, according to court records.
In Darryl’s case, his family filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency alleging discrimination.
In a separate federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, the family alleges government officials are not enforcing state law.
Sadly, Darryl’s family makes a valid point.
Last month, Texas’ CROWN Act went into effect. In essence, the legislation makes natural hair discrimination against people of color illegal.
In recent years, we’ve witnessed way too many Black student-athletes at Kansas colleges being pushed out of school because of their choice of hairstyles.
Arbitrary rules that disenfranchise or discriminate against Black people are nothing new. But enforcing outdated policies on grooming and hairstyles doesn’t make the practice right.
