Darryl George and the Tignon Laws

Banned Histories of Race in America

Back in August, a Black Texas teen named Darryl George was suspended from his Houston-area high school. The school said his hairstyle of braided locs violated their dress code. George’s family filed a lawsuit claiming lack of enforcement of the CROWN Act – a law prohibiting discrimination based on hair style and texture.

Jack Johnson

A few weeks ago, a judge handed down his decision. I probably don’t need to tell you that the republican judge named Chap B. Cain, III ruled against George. Cain said of the ruling, “Judges should not legislate from the bench and I am not about to start today,” because being a republican means saying the exact opposite of the thing you’re doing.

Woody Strode

Naturally, supporters of the ruling say it has nothing to do with race, but history says it has nothing to do with hair. During slavery, enslaved Black people were forced to shave their heads. After slavery, a Black man with a shaved head like Jack Johnson and Woody Strode represented a specific and terrifying masculinity for white men.