Second black Texas teen told by school to cut dreadlocks, according to his mom
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 4 years ago • 48 commentsBy: Janelle Griffith
A second teenager at a Texas high school was suspended and told he could not return to class until he cut his dreadlocks to be in compliance with the school's dress code.
Kaden Bradford, 16, a sophomore at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu in Southeast Texas, has been on at-home suspension since last week, according to his mother, Cindy Bradford.
Kaden's cousin, DeAndre Arnold, is a senior at the school and also wears dreadlocks. DeAndre was recently told by administrators that he is not allowed in school and cannot walk at his graduation unless he cut his hair , his mother, Sandy Arnold, told NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston. DeAndre, whose father is from Trinidad , said the men in his family often grow their dreadlocks, and that it is a part of his identity and culture.
Kaden Bradford. Courtesy Cindy BradfordBoth women, who are sisters, said they will not cut the boys' hair.
Bradford said in an interview Friday that like DeAndre, her son has worn dreadlocks for years and it only recently became an issue at the high school. Last year, Kaden would wear a headband to keep his dreadlocks off his shoulders, his mother said. The school told her that if Kaden kept his dreadlocks pulled back, he would not be in violation of its hair policy, she said.
But shortly after Christmas break, she said the school's principal, Rick Kana, told Kaden that he would need to cut his hair. Bradford said she paid last week to have Kaden's dreads cornrowed, or tightly-braided so that they lay flat against his scalp. But that did not appease administrators, who placed him on at-home suspension because he refused to cut his hair, his mother said.
She said she is now considering taking legal action so he can return to school.
Bradford said she believes the hair policy is racist. The school district dress code states male students cannot have their hair “gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below” the collar, earlobes and eyes when let down.
Barbers Hill High School is predominantly white, according to school district data . African Americans made up 3.1 percent of the school district's population in the 2017-18 school year.
The principal and Barbers Hill Independent School District superintendent, Greg Poole, did not return multiple requests for an interview.
In a statement posted on its Twitter account, the district said that it does allow dreadlocks. "However we DO have a community supported hair length policy & have had for decades," the statement said. "BH is a State leader with high expectations in ALL areas!"
On Friday, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who announced the first federal legislation that would ban hair-based discrimination in December , expressed support for DeAndre and Kaden.
"Natural hair like dreadlocks is a reflection of culture & heritage," he tweeted . "No one should be punished for expressing who they are. The CROWN Act would end this—hair discrimination is discrimination against black people."
In December, Booker said the Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (CROWN) will make it clear that "discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles associated with people of African descent" is a "prohibited form of racial or national origin discrimination."
Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who has dreadlocks, also tweeted support Wednesday for DeAndre.
"Never cut your locks," Hopkins said.
The people there may well be racist, but I doubt very much that policy was aimed specifically at black students. It’s not as if long hair is unique to black people. I’m white and I used to have hair half way down my back. It sounds more like a socially conservative concept of neatness and modesty.
It would be nice though, if they could just rethink the policy. It’s hard to see the harm in letting a young man wear his hair long.
If anything, I think you could argue the policy is sexist if girls are allowed to wear their hair long.
I saw this article yesterday and I admit, I laughed at the whole premise of it being "racist" in any way, shape, or form. These "hair policies" originated back in the 60's and 70's as a way to curb the lifestyles of the "hippies ". That counter-culture movement was as far from Racist as you could get. One of the great unifiers of the movement was the Fuck "The MAN" attitude, and the long hair was a symbol of it; so much so, it was immortalized in songs that are still played today. Here's one now that I'm sure everyone recognizes . The reasons schools started these policies was ostensibly for Health Concerns because the hippies were notorious for being shall we say, a little lax in their bathing standards by American ideals. Head lice became quite a big problem for a while, so school boards banned long hair on boys.
Now to the sexist part of the policies; it is, but for a good reason. Girls tend to wash their hair, even when the counter-culture movement was in full swing. They tend to bathe more in general for that matter. Not to mention, they get really grossed out by the idea of creepy, crawly, biting bugs living in their hair so they tended to take much better care of theirs. It was the boys who really didn't like washing their hair. They still don't, lol! This is why school boards targeted the boys and not the girls. Of course what didn't help is long hair on women has always been acceptable in polite society, whereas with men, it changes with the era. So when you combined the fact that "polite society" at the time meant a nice haircut for men, the whole long hair on boys was a combined FU and a health concern, well what more provocation did the Establishment need to ban it on boys!
Sometimes, it pays to be this old. It helps when you can actually remember the reasons for these policies when you lived through their implementation and the controversies they caused at the time.
Which is why I laughed at the whole "It's Racist" notion!
Wow, I find that sexist.
I'm sorry, but I don't remember any boys with long hair being dirty in the '70s. (yes I am giving my age away, LOL).
The one's in your schools? Maybe that has to do with the peer pressure to bathe, lol! One thing about kids, we could be pretty mean to people who stunk!
Hey, no age jokes. My memory is just fine.
And I am sorry, but I graduated in 1978 and I don't remember anyone who smelled, ever.
They associate hippies with dirty Perrie, just like some people associate blacks with lazy and latinos with greasy.
Archie Bunker lives.
LMAO!
I wouldn't have known. I was a "good girl", LOL!
I was never a hippie but I did occasionally go into the hippie part of town , for fun.
Mostly they were high.
John, I am not getting that from this discussion. The question about the length of the hair could be racist, maybe, but no one is talking about it being dirty.
John, I am not getting that from this discussion.
Didnt someone here say that?
[Deleted]
It is not the truth, plenty of women have bad hygiene and plenty of men are OCD about their personal habits.
Societal pressure. My whole point is that one can't just make sweeping generalizations like 'girls have cleaner hair than boys'. We aren't in the 60's anymore.
You know, I thought this was settled in the '70s when it was found that public schools could NOT dictate dress policy. And I am very sure about this, since the public school that I taught at, decided to become a uniform school, but we could NOT force the kids to wear uniforms. It was voluntary since it was part of federal law. Most of our students did wear uniforms but some didn't and there wasn't a thing we could do about it.
As for this being racist, we would have to know if there are white boys with long hair. I know a lot of boys who are into heavy metal that wear their hair long. So we don't have enough information about this.
Videos linked to the two stories shows white boys who were also forced to get haircuts. One got a haircut that didn't quite meet the standards and was forced to get another one.
The only time I know of where a boy cannot be forced to cut their hair is when it conflicts with their religious beliefs.
But that still doesn't address if other boys have long hair.
Not sure what you mean because if white boys are also being forced to get their hair cut, then it shows that both Black and White do have the same standards being applied. What is important that these videos have been skipping over is that the students can accept In School Suspension and continue to attend while they appeal to the court.
They chose not to.
That is the issue at hand. We don't know if they are or not. If they are than what is good for the goose is good for the gander. If not, then this is targeted.
Even the ACLU says that public schools may enforce dress codes.
https://www.aclunc.org/our-work/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-school-dress-codes...
https://www.aclu.org/.../5-things-public-schools-can-and-cant-do-when-it-comes
Neither link works.
Here are a few of the basics on what public schools can and can’t do when it comes to dress codes.
Though today’s dress codes are unlikely to be explicitly race-based, there can also be stark racial overtones. The Malden policy — in addition to prohibiting hair extensions, a style predominantly worn by Black girls — also prohibits “hair more than 2 inch ( sic .) in thickness or height.” The policy thus effectively prohibits many Black students of either sex from wearing their hair “naturally” without cutting it extremely short — making it abundantly clear which students the school is concerned about distracting versus being distractions. This type of intersecting race and sex discrimination is illegal.
What this boils down to is that schools’ authority to impose dress codes is not unlimited. Students should be informed of their rights so they can speak out if there are violations. And school administrators would do well to reexamine their dress codes to guard against being the next target for protest, whether in the classroom, on the internet, or in court.
So, schools may enforce dress codes if enforced fairly and properly.
Which was my point.
From the links that didn't work for some reason:
https://www.aclunc.org/our-work/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-school-dress-codes...
And:
https://www.aclu.org/.../5-things-public-schools-can-and-cant-do-when-it-comes
I know, it is frustrating.
I typed "Can public schools enforce dress codes?" and those (and other) links popped up. That is how I was able to go back and copy what was in them.
1st amendment slam dunk. the ACLU is already involved. ironic that the same people supporting this ridiculous policy (settled about 50 years ago) are those that would probably welcome religious activities back in public schools.
hopefully the ISD sees the light before they're sued into bankruptcy and possibly forced into eliminating their athletic programs to regain financial solvency. local parents may become discontent with local school officials if that happens.
Link?
Some seem to have fevered imaginations, especially when it comes to religion and/or rules and laws.
If the dress codes are enforced properly and fairly, the school may have them.
Nothing wrong with that, either.
Not exactly. Read here:
No, exactly that.
Dress codes may be enforced if done fairly and properly.
Even the ACLU says so!
Here is another version:
Clothing as a primary means for expressing ideas for students is as primitive as clothing itself, yet schools across the country often grapple with whether to enforce strict dress code policies that may interfere with a students’ right to self-expression.
While school boards are generally allowed to create and enforce dress code programs within their districts, they must do so without violating the constitutional rights of students.
School Dress Code Laws
The first school dress code law was established in 1969 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case, known as Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District , involved several high school students who wore black armbands to school in a planned protest against the Vietnam War. In a far-reaching decision, the Court essentially decided that schools may limit student expression (such as enforcing dress codes) if there is a legitimate concern that such expression will be disruptive to the learning environment or violate the rights of others.
Today, most states have laws that allow school boards to make dress code rules for students within their district to promote a safe, disciplined school environment, prevent interference with schoolwork and discipline, and to encourage uniformity of student dress. For instance, dress codes that prohibit clothing that is vulgar, obscene or worn in a manner that disrupts school activity are generally permitted – whereas dress codes that censor student expression because educators do not like the message are generally not permitted.
Dress Code Policies vs. Freedom of Speech
Not all speech is protected in a school setting. For example, students who wear clothing that follows the latest fashion trend – such as oversized shirts and slouchy jeans for boys, or short skirts and mid-drift cut-out shirts on girls – or clothing that supports a particular sports team, religion, or political point of view, may be prohibited in dress code policies if the student’s choice in clothing draws attention away from the school’s learning environment.
Therefore, limits on dress codes have including the following:
Freedom of Religion Issues
In contrast to limits on dress as a means to providing a safe learning environment, school dress codes, in most cases, cannot be used to prevent students from expressing their religion beliefs. Both the Constitution and most state laws protect students’ rights to wear religious attire inool school, such as the wearing of a turban, yarmulke, or head scarf.
Below are situations where dress codes have been challenged on religious freedom grounds:
Please notice that hair length is not part of these limitations.
Neither do I. Hence why I brought this article into discussion. I went through all the trouble of telling you that I taught at a uniform public school, but I know the one thing we couldn't do was MAKE the students wear the uniform. Peer pressure often did the work for us.
If anyone wants to discriminate against me for long hair, they are decades too late.
Enoch, Slicking Over My Chrome Dome.
Ok, I will go out on a limb and say that
no dress code that allows girls to have hair as long as possible
or short as possible , as in Marine Corps high & tight,
is fair when it limits the boys/men's style of haircut favored by Hercules & Samson.