Kaden Bradford, a student of Barber Hills High School, is now the second Black Texan teen being told to cut off his dreadlocks to be in compliance with the school’s dress code.
What We Know:
- The 16-year-old’s mother, Cindy Bradford, stated on a report that her son was put on suspension for the past week because he simply refused to cut his hair. Kaden is Trinidadian and is accustomed to wearing dreadlocks because of his family’s cultural background. It’s a symbol of their identity and culture.
- Shortly after Christmas break, the school told Kaden to cut his hair as it was in violation of dress code. Despite wearing dreadlocks for years up until this point, Cindy refused to cut his hair and paid for a stylist to tightly braid Kaden’s dreads into cornrows so they would lay flat against his scalp.
- The population of Mont Belvieu in Texas, where Barber Hills High is located, can be represented by this ethnic demographic data which shows percentages of the high school’s students. Only 3.1 percent of the students are Black, while White (70%) and other ethnic backgrounds make up the overwhelming majority of students.
- The Barbers Hill Independent School District hasn’t had an activity on Twitter since January 19, when their account responded to media reports of the previous case involving DeAndre Arnold. DeAndre, who is actually Kaden’s cousin, was the first Black Texan to deal with this dilemma. The school advised DeAndre to cute his dreadlocks in order for him to walk at graduation.
https://twitter.com/BarbersHillSoup/status/1218927008136253440?s=20
- The school explicitly described their hair length policy in the district’s student handbook. It points out the restriction on the length of male students’ hair from going beyond the eyebrows or ear lobes when let down.
- Other public figures having been following this hair discrimination since the first instance of a student getting suspended, including football star DeAndre Hopkins and influencer Gabrielle Union.
The policing, criticism, and all other forms of bullshit ass commentary about our hair… KEEP FIGHTING!!! They truly believe if you stay quiet, they've won. Don't be quiet. Do not let this stand. https://t.co/21JATafVvZ
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 23, 2020
The controversy is now one of many previous cases across the country trying to pass legislation which will aid in cracking down on race-based hair discrimination in both schools and workplaces.
