Under Superintendent Greg Poole's watch, Barbers Hill High School recently suspended senior DeAndre Arnold for refusing to cut his dreadlocks, and threatened to bar him from attending his own graduation ceremony if he does not cut his hair. The school claims that DeAndre’s dreadlocks violate the school district’s dress code. But we know what this is really about. Their decision to target DeAndre continues a long-standing trend of harassing Black students with racist policies that discriminate against natural hairstyles. That’s why we’re calling on Barbers Hill Independent School District Superintendent Greg Poole to ensure that the district’s current dress code policy is adjusted to protect its students against racial discrimination. DeAndre Arnold should be allowed to participate in his graduation ceremony and his suspension should be immediately reversed.

Every day, Black folks are being robbed of employment opportunities, educational opportunities, and our dignity because employers and institutions can code their racism in dress code policies and concepts like ‘professionalism’ that were designed to keep us out. Enough is enough. We deserve to wear our hair in ways that feel celebratory of our personal power who we are as a people. It's time for Superintendent Greg Poole to be accountable to the families and students he is meant to serve. 

Here is the Petition:

Superintendent Poole: 

We are calling on you to create an anti-hair-discrimination policy for Barbers Hill Independent School District. Just this week, one of the district's students, DeAndre Arnold, was suspended after refusing to cut his dreadlocks and was told that he could not walk his graduation if he did not cut his hair. Barber Hills High School's decision to target DeAndre continues a long-standing trend of harassing Black students with racist policies that discriminate against natural hairstyles. This is unacceptable. 
 
Schools should be a place where Black kids are taught to take pride in themselves and their heritage. Unfortunately, they are often the places where our children are humiliated instead. DeAndre has said that he wears dreadlocks because they connect him to his family and his heritage. Any institution that is committed to his well-being should be encouraging that connection, not punishing it. Without an anti-hair discrimination policy in place, students like DeAndre will continue to be disrespected and degraded by the institutions that are supposed to nurture them. The time to create a policy to address this problem is today.