A group of concerned West Orange High School students recently held an organized protest during lunch period in response to what they say is a recent crack-down on rules banning durags and bonnets. The students claim that rule unfairly targets Black students.
Senior, teenage activist and author Marly Dias and junior Micah Pryor spoke with WBGO News Director Doug Doyle about their situation and next steps.
Dias says the abrupt enforcement of school dress code rules has sparked outrage among the West Orange High School student community….
"We would really like to see a change in the dress code and understanding that professionalism and the history of professionalism and respectability politics in America has always come at the expense of Black culture. And for schools to recognize learning, our school, to recognize that learning is the priority. Embracing the freedom that students have as they grow up and express themselves is a priority and making sure they feel safe in their school, rather than feel like parts of who they are or what they like put them at risk for not being able to learn."
The students argue the rule is undemocratic, and rooted in anti-Blackness. Micah Pryor, a junior at West Orange High, says the rule is undemocratic and rooted in anti-Blackness.
"You know it's not all just about durags, it's about the fact that West Orange High School is upholding harmful Black stereotypes and they're forcing it onto Black children and that they're policing Black students just as Black women were policed for locks and braids, calling it unprofessional. So, it's the fact that there upholding this White standard."
Pryor says they been able to use social media to get out their concerns beyond the district.
"We wanted to make sure we had the maximum amount of participation in the protest. We made it very clear that we are not here to set more standards about what people can and cannot wear, but a lot of White students already that they wouldn't feel comfortable wearing a bonnet, a head scarf or a du-rag because it is not a part of their culture, which further emphasized and underscored the point that this is about a specific culture. So we had some White students participate who may or not worn durags, but our priority was making sure that everyone understood that this was a targeted thing, and if they were wearing them, they also knew it was really like their place and they understood it was a part of somebody else's culture. So when were were talking to administration at the beginning or them having comments about it in the halls or anything, they would says that they didn't want White people to wear du-rags or head scarves, but then they would say these things weren't cultural. So we understand that there is a divide from race to race about what things we wear, what thing we don't wear, the music we listen to, the food we eat. But when it comes to actually recognizing it in school and addressing how we target those groups, they were often turning a blind eye to us."
In response to the students’ concerns, the school administration released a statement saying the matter was not up for debate. Principal Hayden Moore who did not return emails or phone calls from WBGO News this week, said in the statement.
"Dress codes exist to signify that school is a professional learning space that deserves respect. Our policies are in place so that we can all focus on building our students' academic focus and commitment to learning. We set the highest expectations for learning, behavior, and appearance. Durags and other non-religious head coverings are not aligned with the professional appearance that we promote to our students and therefore, are not allowed as part of our school day attire."
Senior Marley Dias and other students call that justification hypocritical, because they say the same school administration allows students to wear pajamas, sweatpants, crocs, and slippers freely without punishment. Dias is no stranger to fighting for causes. She is the founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks and author of "Marley Dias Gets it Done: And So Can You!" The 2021 Ambassador of National Educational Association (NEA) Read Across America is also the host and executive producer of Netflix’s Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices.
Dias says she's taken a look at other school in the area regarding their specific dress code policies.
"So in other schools they are often told what to wear more and it has not shown any great benefit to their community or to their students. One of our rivaling and neighboring schools, they have strict dress codes, they can't wear hoodies, hats, bonnets, du-rags and we have a sort of looser dress code up until last month. There is not direct correlation between their academic results and what they wear. Our school has outperformed them because of own economic reasons and resources and because the students have creative freedoms to what they wear, our drama programs, our athletic programs and making sure students have that freedom. And now we feel those freedoms are being taken away and targeted against our majority population, which is Black students."
The group of student demands include:
- Training for school administration on anti-Blackness
- Removal of school policies on durags, bonnets, and similar
- Expunge all detentions related to durag policies
- Reform and rewrite school dress code policy to be pro-youth and gender inclusive
- Include student representatives in the re-writing of any dress code policies
Both Dias and Pryor are hoping the matter can be addressed in an upcoming Board of Education meeting.
