RACISM

Why a Black Student Was Pressured to Conform for The Sake of Unity

Assimilation into white society is not an olive branch; it's a Trojan horse

AI-generated image of a black student standing near a large window | created by author using CANVA

Far too often, Black Americans are pressured to conform for the sake of unity, to assimilate into a white-centered society, which has become painfully evident in the way Black students are punished for wearing natural hairstyles instead of cutting their hair or straightening it using chemical relaxers or heat. When Darryl George, a Black student, attended Barbers Hill High School as a Junior in Mont Belvieu, about a thirty-minute drive from Houston, Texas, he wore his dreadlocks to class, braided to the scalp, and this was, unfortunately enough to put him in the hot seat.

School administrators suspended Darryl George several times since August because of his hairstyle, accusing the teenager of "disruption." In doing so, they're sending the message that there's something wrong with black hair, that it is inherently disruptive for Black students to wear natural hairstyles. The goal of this type of punishment is to discourage Darryl and other Black students from wearing dreadlocks or other natural hairstyles. However, all this policy does is further marginalize them. There was nothing disruptive about Darryl's hair, which was neatly braided and tied…