this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2024
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A judge ordered Wednesday that a trial be held next month to determine whether a Black high school student in Texas can continue being punished by his district for refusing to change a hairstyle he and his family say is protected by a new state law.

Darryl George, 18, has not been in his regular classroom in Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu since Aug. 31. Instead, he has either been serving in-school suspension or spending time in an off-site disciplinary program.

His Houston-area school district, Barbers Hill, has said George’s long hair, which he wears in neatly tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates a district dress code that limits hair length for boys. The district has said other students with locs comply with the length policy.

...

In the ad, Poole defended his district’s policy and wrote that districts with a traditional dress code are safer and had higher academic performance and that “being an American requires conformity.”

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[–] mateomaui@reddthat.com 121 points 7 months ago (6 children)

districts with a traditional dress code are safer

Trying to wrap my head around the concept of “dangerous hair.”

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 106 points 7 months ago (1 children)

"traditional dress code" seems like code for white people in this case.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 19 points 7 months ago

Clearly it's the hair that's the problem with their culture, and not the generational lack of wealth.

Show me how many black people inherit a house vs whites. Show me how crime rates drop in areas where more homes are owned outright, with no rent or mortgage.

Nah, it's probably the hair.

[–] Uranium3006@kbin.social 35 points 7 months ago

it's a code word for racism

[–] Liome@pawb.social 32 points 7 months ago

Countries with gun control laws are safer.
Schools have no business whatsoever in their students' hair.

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[–] magnetosphere@kbin.social 66 points 7 months ago (1 children)

If the student somehow doesn’t win, I’ll have even less faith in the justice system than I already do.

Oh, and this isn’t quite the point, but I’ve seen pictures of his hair from other angles. It’s cool as hell.

[–] maryjayjay@lemmy.world 28 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It's fucking Texas. Don't get your hopes up

[–] magnetosphere@kbin.social 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah. The CROWN Act is the only reason I have any hope at all. Otherwise, I’d say this kid is fucked.

[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago

Yeah. The CROWN Act is the only reason I have any hope at all. Otherwise, I’d say this kid is fucked.

I just want to point out that my understanding is that this school district is the reason for the CROWN Act, adding yet another layer of stupid to how the superintendent is conducting himself.

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[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 57 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

This school principal used "conformity" as an American principle, implying the kid was being anti American or foreign in some way. Black Americans and their hairstyles are just as American, if not more so than that of white Americans, many who don't have roots to this land as deep as that of some black Americans. This is another example of racist, white administrators, who think that only a white American is a true American.

[–] WeeSheep@lemmy.world 40 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Being an American requires respect of others, originally different religions, and now encompass race. Who still cares about hair style as long as it isn't whipping in someone else's face.

[–] Nudding@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Looks like you drank the propaganda lol. Being an American is about bombing brown children for oil.

[–] aniki@lemm.ee 3 points 7 months ago

Don't forget rampant consumption!

[–] WeeSheep@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

😭 I don't like that you are correct

[–] Akuchimoya@startrek.website 36 points 7 months ago

This is utterly ridiculous and such a thinly veiled racism. It's disgusting that a school principal and members of the school board collectively want to punish this kid so badly for being black they'd go to court to do it.

If there's a go fund me or other fundraiser for court costs for this kid and his family, I'd gladly throw money at it.

[–] Nobody@lemmy.world 32 points 7 months ago (4 children)

America was founded in a rebellion against tyranny. Conformity was for royalists, who undermined the revolution and some of whom later served as spies or fought with the British Empire.

These people wave flags and pretend they embody American ideals when they’ve never even understood those ideals, much less even made an effort to live up to them.

[–] Illuminostro@lemmy.world 28 points 7 months ago (2 children)

The Revolution was fought because rich men hated paying taxes. The same reason we're on the verge of a second civil war, now.

Ironically, all these conservative "patriots" would have been Tories back in day.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

No taxation without representation.

It wasn't just taxes. It was taxes that were being taken out of their community that they had no say in.

Texas gets more representation in our government than any other state not named California.

And you know where Texas money goes? 60% goes back to Texas. The rest goes to Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Mexico, and Kentucky.

[–] thesporkeffect@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Bloody royalists

[–] Wrench@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

That's a hilariously bad interpretation on why the colonialists came here, and then eventually rebelled against the monarchy. Or even the culture of the colonials.

Hilariously bad.

[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago

These people wave flags and pretend they embody American ideals when they’ve never even understood those ideals, much less even made an effort to live up to them.

Remember, these are the same people who were amazed to find that RATM was not only political, but held positions in opposition to theirs. They assume all worthy ideals conform to their worldview, and consistently fail to look any deeper until forced to do so.

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[–] _number8_@lemmy.world 29 points 7 months ago (1 children)

it's incredible there are still guys who act like a grade school dress code is some sort of sacred biblical text. just really makes your skin crawl. imagine believing in something like that. imagine taking time out of your day to punish someone over their hair and thinking you're a noble servant of the barber's hill tradition. what the fuck dude

oh and also the virulent racism

[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 12 points 7 months ago

imagine taking time out of your day to punish someone over their hair and thinking you’re a noble servant of the barber’s hill tradition. what the fuck dude

When you think "being an American requires conformity" and consider yourself the arbiter of that conformity, it makes pretty good sense. Especially if you are a racist old shitbag.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 27 points 7 months ago (1 children)

For context, Poole got his conformity idea from looking at the military academies. Barber's Hill is not a military prep school and the Military does not believe being an American requires conformity. They believe target identification and units working together at low levels requires conformity. (So they know exactly what they're going to do and can just execute the mission without input from higher)

This guy is an authoritarian hiding behind things he only pretends to know about.

[–] slackassassin@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago

Yep. The full quote was referring to Annapolis, etc, and talking about how they know that "being American requires conformity with the benefit of unity."

I like your take because even though that keeps being taken out of context, it's still deserves just as much criticism. High school isn't boot camp.

[–] _lilith@lemmy.world 21 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I like that the two people who literally wrote the law the school is currently breaking were at the hearing to confirm that the law covers this

[–] gamingdexter@lemmy.ml 21 points 7 months ago

I hope he wins and sues the school but mainly the principal into the ether. Good for him and his family for supporting him

[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 18 points 7 months ago

Sounds like the school needs to conform to the changes of society!

[–] Gork@lemm.ee 15 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Barbers Hill High School

Well there's your problem right there. With a name like that, they're bound to be very particular about the hair of all of their students for whatever reason.

[–] PopMyCop@iusearchlinux.fyi 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Lol. The best part is, the name comes from the area being a huge salt dome, which tracks because these school administrators are obviously super salty.

[–] Deceptichum@kbin.social 4 points 7 months ago

“Hey this hill is really salty, you know what we should call it?”

“Uhh salt hill?”

“What‽ No, barber’s hill - it reminds me of getting a haircut”

[–] Illuminostro@lemmy.world 15 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Seriously, what is offensive about his hair?

[–] xanu@lemmy.world 38 points 7 months ago (1 children)

His skin color.

Hopefully it's obvious I don't agree with that statement, but at the end of the day, that's what this case is really about.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago

Hey, it's also about power trips and compliance. "You WILL do what I said" kind of thing.

[–] UnrepententProcrastinator@lemmy.ca 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Remember all those immigrants coming through New York being inspired by the statue of conformity.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago

Same people in Texas make fun of North Koreas defined list of hairstyles probably lol

[–] homura1650@lemm.ee 12 points 7 months ago (2 children)

violates a district dress code that limits hair length for boys

I get the racism angle here, but isn't this an open and shut case of sexism?

[–] doctorcrimson@lemmy.today 3 points 7 months ago

Because it's a part of dress code, it's basically tradition to separate by gender on the topic. Just like how women are required by law to cover their nipples in the USA.

[–] stoly@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Sadly, SCOTUS has basically decided that schools can do pretty much whatever they want with school uniforms and dress codes. It doesn't serve any valid purpose, but proponents will say BS like " it distracts from the educational experience ".

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 5 points 7 months ago

If I was the judge for this, I'd get the same haircut as the kid out of pure spite.

[–] feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I was suspended for my hairstyle, twice I think. Definitely at least two times. Just wasn't in line with the dress code for the school. Annoyed me at the time but it's like... the rules weren't racial, I'm white and one of the times I had cornrows. It was the 90's, I'd just been to Tenerife, I definitely looked stupid.

[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 7 points 7 months ago

the rules weren’t racial, I’m white and one of the times I had cornrows.

If cornrows were banned, it absolutely was racist, they just accidentally caught a white person too

https://www.byrdie.com/history-of-cornrows-5193458

It poses an even bigger issue when, in more recent times, Black people are still discriminated against based on their hair texture and choices, including cornrows. In 1980, Renee Rogers sued American Airlines when the company demanded she not wear cornrows to work. In 2000, a Wisconsin teacher forcibly cut off seven-year-old Lamya Cammon's plaits before her grade-school class. These instances don't include the countless cases of discrimination that go unreported or unspoken. "That's why it's so important that when you see cornrows today, it's so important to recognize that Black people are discriminated against and even face job loss for wearing cornrows," Donaldson stresses. "Non-Black people just don't."

In 1999 Venus Williams wore cornrows with beaded ends, which were declared disruptive at the Australian Open. Only two years ago in 2019, Gabrielle Union filed a discrimination complaint against her employer, America's Got Talent, after receiving racially insensitive comments in regards to her hair, including that her styles were "too Black." It paints a clear picture of the disparities between Black traits and styles and the people who are policed versus those glorified.

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[–] AnxiousDuck@feddit.it 1 points 7 months ago

Yes, I know my enemies They're the teachers who taught me to fight me Compromise, conformity Assimilation, submission Ignorance, hypocrisy Brutality, the elite All of which are American dreams All of which are American dreams All of which are American dreams All of which are American dreams All of which are American dreams All of which are American dreams All of which are American dreams All of which are American dreams

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