Texas Black haur ruling: Closeup profile of Darryl George, a Black teenager with long Black locs worn tied up close to his head

Q&A: Texas court ruling on a Black student wearing hair in long locs reflects history of racism in schools

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What message has the court just sent?

The court decision in Texas – and the no-long-hair policy in the Barbers Hill Independent School District – might seem outdated, misinformed or at odds with best practices for culturally responsive education. But as I and other researchers have found, strict monitoring and other anti-Black practices – such as those regarding Black children’s hair, bodies, language, clothing and even their presence – are widespread in America’s schools.

What options do Black students have?
What should school leaders consider?

The word "criminal" is engraved on a building.

Court watchers urge change in Florida, which is No. 1 in prosecuting youth as adults

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Since 2007, 18 states have raised to 18 the age at which a person can be criminally charged as an adult, according to a 2021 report from The Sentencing Project. In a previous report, that organization concluded that 250,000 youth nationwide were being charged as adults annually in 2000. By 2019, that number was 53,000, an 80% drop.

NY marijuana laws: Two hand-rolled marijuana joints rest on lid and glass jar lying on its side with marijuana buds in it.

Legalizing recreational marijuana likely means fewer arrests of juveniles of color

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The new law is retroactive. It allows persons to have prior marijuana-related convictions for which, under the new rules, they would not be arrested, to be expunged from their record. Expungement of prior records was critical to ensuring fairer justice for communities disproportionately policed, arrested and affected by drug policies, said New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo). “Black communities, brown communities, have always been the target of these laws,” Peoples-Stokes said. “If we’re going to take the market above ground, we have to remove those convictions.”

Former Attorney General Holder Urges Action on Racial Issues Under Trump

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Panelists at a discussion on race spoke mostly about collective response to a president they fear will roll back the rights of people of color, as well as other groups.
“Start where you are,” said DeRay McKesson, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter. “I didn’t get a call from Harriet Tubman to be an activist.”