Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee: Barbers Hill ISD CROWN Act ruling a ‘major discrimination’ against student

FILE: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, speaks during the March on Washington, Friday Aug. 28, 2020, in Washington, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

Late Friday morning Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee had one objective: action.

Taking to the podium, with supporters standing alongside and behind her, Lee let everybody know exactly what was on her mind after a Houston area judge ruled that a Barbers Hill ISD dress policy did not violate the CROWN Act.

“I was hoping on this day, February 23, 2024, I would not have to stand here for a crisis of major discrimination for a sector of American culture, America’s history, America’s population,” she said.

Supporters unfurled posters of Darryl George, the high school student serving and in school suspension because the Barbers Hill Independent School District found his dreadlocks, though worn high and tight against his head, were deemed too long, in violation of the school’s policy that hair must not extend over his eyes, ears or neck.

“I am stunned of a fight I have to make for young Mr. George to be treated like a decent human being and be able to receive the education that the tax dollar of his family pays for every single day,” Lee stated. “So today, the CROWN Act will become a federal challenge. And I expect the Congress will join me in targeting Texas, as a state that tried to do the right thing, but that was rejected by a single state district court judge.”

Lee referred to the U.S. Army removing minimum hair length from its requirements and lifting restrictions on any soldier to promote inclusivity and to accommodate soldiers.

“I am calling on the Department of Education, I believe there is a Title XI violation of his civil rights,” Lee said. “I’m going to utilize the practices of the United States Army: that they have gotten rid of any requirement regarding hair in 2021.”

Taking aim at the court decision rendered in Chambers County Court, Lee says the judge violated George’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of free expression and equal protection under the law.

From her opening statement, Lee viewed what happened in Chambers County as an open act of discrimination, codified by a rural county judge, Chap B. Cain III. State Representative and Attorney Jolanda Jones, who was at the press conference described him as someone, “without adequate cultural competency.”

Jackson Lee threw down the gauntlet with her proclamation:

“We’re going to make Mr. George more than just a student, he’s going to be one of the iconic symbols of the history of civil rights in America.”