News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Feb. 10, 2020: Caribbean-roots teen Deandre Arnold, who was told his dreadlocks violated the school dress code at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, last night walked the Red Carpet as a guest of the 92nd Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California.
A glammed-up Arnold walked the Red Carpet with the director of ‘Hair Love’ Matthew A. Cherry and its producer Karen Rupert Toliver outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The Houston-born, Trinidadian-roots Arnold suspension from school over his refusal to cut his dreads has pushed him into national fame. Dove provided the “full wardrobe and glam for the big night.”
Arnold’s father is from Trinidad and Tobago and he has said he’s worn dreadlocks for years like a lot of men in his family and always followed the school’s dress code by tying them up.
“I’m standing strong because of the support system I have behind me,” Arnold said.
“It means the world to us to have him here with us,” Cherry said. “We wanted people to see how good of a kid he is, but also there’s no reason people should be policing our hair.”
Cherry’s film, which follows a black father who is attempting to do his daughter’s hair for the first time, won the Best Animated Short Film award Sunday night. He launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 to get the film made. It went viral, and he has a “Hair Love” children’s book with illustrations by Vashti Harrison.
Recently, Arnold went on Ellen DeGeneres’ show and talked about why he won’t cut his hair and he received a $20,000 scholarship on the how.
Last week, members of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus introduced an act that bans discrimination against natural hairstyles.
The CROWN Act, which stands for “Create A Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is a law that prohibits discrimination based on hair texture and styles, commonly associated with race. It was first introduced in California in January 2019 and first passed in New York six months later.
