Daryl George, a Black junior at Barbers Hill Independent School District in Houston, faces suspension for violating a grooming code prohibiting male hair below earlobes, sparking debate over the Texas CROWN Act's applicability. While the district sues to clarify that the law excludes length restrictions, listeners dissect whether this policy constitutes racial profiling against African cultural identities or merely enforces arbitrary neatness standards. Ultimately, the episode highlights the ongoing tension between institutional dress codes and evolving legal protections for natural hairstyles. [Automatically generated summary]
Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
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Racial Discrimination in Schools00:10:33
Yeah, I've got a new show for y'all.
Got a damn good show.
All right, so this black kid and his mom is screaming racism.
Think he goes to some suspect.
Like the bull cry of wolf.
Wolf, wolf, that's wolf.
There's no wolf.
You know that old fable?
Wolf, wolf, there's no wolf.
Lied to you.
You know what happened in Ian?
Wolf came.
Wolf came, nobody blamed him.
Wolf tore his ass up.
So now when black people scream racing, oh, I heard this before.
But then when something actually, something that might be racist or suspect, nobody's gonna believe him.
So check out this story.
It's about this kid.
You can't wear your hair but a certain length.
Yeah.
Sound like a dress code.
It's like a grooming code for your hair.
Grooming code.
Right?
Yeah.
You know what?
They're instilling discipline in you.
How to groom yourself.
That's why teachers have them dress codes.
Look, we come here.
You're going to be shaving.
Nice, clean haircut.
Ring core.
We had to shave.
Let's do that.
They instilling, they're conditioning you to be disciplined.
To be well-groomed, manicured, presentable, business professional.
That's what they're instilling in them.
Yeah.
You know that, right?
Yeah.
Nothing wrong with that.
Have a dress code.
So check out this story.
Let me know what you think.
I can understand both sides of this show on this, but we'll see.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Let's check it out.
Now be the judge of that.
You be the judge.
I'll be the judge.
Let's go to the video.
We're developing a story out of Texas, a Houston Edmonton High School suspending a black student for the second time this year because of his hairstyle.
Now, as Antonia Hilton reports, the family is calling on the district to change its policy.
Daryl George, a high school junior, has been out of class for more than two weeks.
The Barbers Hill Independent School District in Texas has suspended him twice since the start of the school year over his hairstyle.
His grades are failing.
Like they're going down drastically.
He's not getting a proper education.
All Daryl wants is the chance to join the rest of his classmates.
Go back to class.
Do what I need to do to get my education.
The district says his hairstyle, called locks, violates their grooming code, which states that male students' hair will not extend at any time below the eyebrows or below the earlobes.
But Daryl's mom says her son always wears his hair like this, pulled back above his ears and eyebrows.
Now, the family is considering legal action.
I want them to really educate themselves on our cultures, on our hairstyles.
And then they will see it is covered.
It is a part of who we are.
It all happened the same week the Crown Act went into effect in Texas, banning acts of discrimination against certain hairstyles and textures in schools and workplaces.
22 other states have passed similar bills, the legislation gaining momentum after incidents like the 2018 scandal over a black wrestler forced to cut his hair to compete.
The school says this is really about the length of his hair.
It's not about race.
Do you see that distinction?
We're dealing with the policing of a hairstyle like locks, brace, and twist that African descendants historically and commonly wear and are associated with our racial and cultural identities.
It is a form of racial discrimination.
Today, the district filed a lawsuit seeking court clarification on the Crown Act.
They maintain they're not in violation of the new law, which they argue doesn't govern hair length.
Meanwhile, Daryl has no plans to change his hair.
I'm saying straight to Barbara's Hill.
We're not backing down at all.
We're going to fight.
Antonia Hilton, NBC News, New York.
Thanks for watching.
Shut up, Lester.
Hey, his hair is grown and he keeps it pinned up.
It's not below his eyebrows.
I think they're leaving out some facts out of this story because clearly when his hair is wrapped up like he's a damn predator or something, it's not hanging below his eyebrows.
Well, he's got locks.
Yeah, he's got it all twisted up.
So I don't think they suspended him for that.
I think he come to school and he coming out looking like a predator.
And he's like, hey, boy, you speculate.
You a white supremacist.
The boy's hair is not below his eyebrows.
It's not below his shoulders.
They're leaving out some key facts.
I saw the pictures.
Saw the pictures.
Yeah, but I think they're groomed.
He's neat, handsome young man.
He's not breaking the laws.
I have a little experience with this.
When I was in the Marine Corps, I remember my sergeant.
He was a total asshole.
You know, I got curly hair.
See?
Snappy hair, you nappy nigga.
I got curly hair.
I got curly hair.
I remember he was such an asshole.
He would go up to my hair, bring out a ruler, and he would pull my hair and see how long it was.
Yeah, that was racist.
Yeah, yeah.
I don't want to say it's racist.
He's a jerk.
No, no, no, no, he's racist.
He probably is racist.
Was he white?
Because he didn't do it nothing.
Was he white?
No, he's Mexican.
Morales.
Morales, huh?
Yep, he's a Mexican.
What's the white dude?
He's Mexican.
He didn't like me.
You know why?
Why?
Because I'm good looking.
You can't tall and handsome.
But that happened to me, and they're doing the exact same thing to him.
He's following the code.
It's just he has long hair, so he pins it up.
And it is discriminatory because they want to treat all kids the same.
All kids are not the same.
We have different cultures, different backgrounds.
You can't treat everybody the same because we're not.
Is it racist?
No, but it is discriminatory towards certain cultures.
Shut up.
Personally, I don't see a problem if he keeps it buttoned up.
Thank you.
Boss of reason over here.
Boss of reason.
Because it's not going past the eyebrows and his earlobes.
It should be fine.
If they suspended him because it's all braided up like that, then I have an issue with that because you can't...
You're telling us.
He's not racist, but it is discriminatory.
Yeah.
It's not freedom either.
It's America.
And it's un-American, if you ask me.
They're letting boys go in the girls' restrooms.
Why can't they let a Negro walk around with his hair up?
Well, that's an African cultural hairstyle.
Right, right.
I mean, white people don't walk around like that because it looks crazy.
It looks messy.
You ever seen a white dude with breads?
It looks horrible.
It looks horrible for me.
Oh, black people, oh, no.
White guy looks crazy.
You see what I'm saying?
So that's why white people don't wear their hair like that.
They got the...
But black people.
They got all that flowing hair, like, got all them golden locks.
All of them golden locks.
Like they should be on a damn romance now.
All that damn white long hair blowing in there.
Yeah, black people have a different texture of hair, so they wear their hair differently.
Yeah.
Do you see where I'm coming from?
They're forcing someone to be something that's not them.
They can't express their true identity.
I mean, I understand.
I understand dress colour.
Well, white boys can't express their true identity if they want to wear their hair long.
Yeah.
Whether they have a dress code.
It can't be.
No, the dress code is this.
The dress code is this.
Can't be below the eyebrows.
Yeah.
Or to the shoulders, right?
If a white dude.
Shut up.
Earlope.
If a white boy grows his hair long, he can put it in a bun.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And vice versa.
I mean, women, they wear their hair long.
It's gender discrimination against males.
Yeah, it's discrimination against males, man.
Yeah, I follow you on that.
Yeah, they keep saying we live in a patriarchy.
But this world ran by women.
I'm just joking.
Kid talking about, what the mom said, oh, I'm failing now.
Nigga, you was probably failing since you went there.
I'm failing now.
They won't let me come to school.
I'm black.
This white man treats me.
Like, I'm a Negro.
But this, this is, I think this, this dress code, I understand it's.
It's a grooming code.
I understand the dress code, the grooming code.
But if you pin it up and you make it nice and neat, it shouldn't.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That is discriminatory to whites and blacks if you can't wear your hair long.
So if, like, what for white boys and a damn Viking, right?
Comes in with their braids.
Vikings used to wear braids.
They're white.
So they could have put it up.
So long it's not below the eyebrows.
Yeah.
It's discriminatory.
And then you're going to make that kid cut his hair just for a wrestling match?
That is crazy.
Well, Dane, you got to think about you wrestling.
You wrestling.
He got all that damn hair whooping you all in the damn face, some damn hard-ass nappy braids.
Beating you all in the face.
Man, come on now.
Well, you think that'll give a Negro an advantage?
Like when you boxing, you can't have a beard.
That's why you don't see boxes with beards.
You can't have a beard?
Uh-uh.
Because you, that damn big...
I could grow my beard like somebody punched me in the face.
I don't even feel it.
Yeah, bam, bam.
I do the rope and don't like Muhammad.
He just beat the hell out of this beard.
Did you all turn down?
Bam!
That is stupid.
A bird is not going to keep you from getting knocked out.
I'm just saying.
That's stupid, too.
You can't wear a beard and you box.
If anybody should better wear a beard, it's a damn boxer.
That shit look cool as hell.
You walk in there.
Tyson walking in with a beard.
Yeah, people's got their head.
People's got the head up their arts, man.
These dress codes, some of them are just stupid and archaic.
I mean, they don't want kids coming out looking like Millie Vanilli.
Coming out looking like this.
Here's a picture of Millie Vanilli.
They don't want your kids looking like this.
I understand why.
And then once the black kids do it, the white kids like, if they can do it, I can too.
But if it's neat and you put it up and it's, I personally, I don't care.
Yeah.
I mean, for y'all to suspend a kid over his hair, he's not.
I'm telling you, they didn't suspend.
I'm speculating, Keith.
He's not a behavioral.
He doesn't have behavioral issues.
He hasn't demonstrated that.
I'm telling you, he's letting it down.
It's all over his hat.
He's sitting around like Dwayne Wade's son.
I'm telling us what happened.
You think I may be wrong, but I'm done talking about this Negro.
Suspending a Kid Over Hair00:00:47
Damn good show.
Y'all know about failing now.
You probably got D's and F's the whole time.
You're trying to bang all the white chicks in there.
Shut up, man.
He sounds like a well-spoken educated man.
He don't come off like no thug to me, man.
Hey, man.
He just joking, man.
Hey, we gotta.
Hope you win your case.
Hey, our giveaway is almost up.
We're giving away a $90,000 truck of a Ram Diesel 2500 pickup truck with the Allison transmission in there and the Cummins engine.
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