With hopes of walking across the stage at his high school graduation, DeAndre Arnold was met with a roadblock that attempted to alter a tradition within his family. According to the Chicago Tribune, the 18-year-old was told to cut his locs in order to attend his graduation ceremony or face suspension.
The Mount Belvieu, Texas school claims its handbook mandates a male student’s hair must not reach past the “the top of a T-shirt collar or be gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a T-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down.”
Arnold decided not to return to the school because he would face in-school suspension for not adhering to the handbook and switched schools. He’s been growing his hair since the seventh grade. In a statement given to CNN, Superintendent Greg Pool said this has always been the school’s policy and not something the institution created to single out a student. “People want to call us racist, but we’re following the rules, the law of the land,” he said. “We’re certainly not making this up.”
After the news went viral, talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres and Grammy Award-winning singer Alicia Keys awarded Arnold with a $20,000 donation toward his college tuition. “I know that the school needs to do the right thing,” Keys said. “Me and Ellen, we called our friends at Shutterfly because we know that you’re a special person and you’re destined for already such greatness. We wanted to support that greatness, and invest in that greatness, and we wanted to present you a check for $20,000.”
The news also made it to the view of filmmaker Matthew A. Cherry, who created the Oscar-nominated animated film Hair Love. In tandem with star couple, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, Arnold and his mother will receive the all-star treatment and attend the Oscars on Sunday (Feb. 9).
Since Deandre Arnold’s school didnt want to let him walk at his graduation because of his hair we figured that he should walk with us on the red carpet at the #Oscars as our special guest. Thank you @itsgabrielleu @DwyaneWade & @Dove for their help. pic.twitter.com/RD8cv0iL8G
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) January 31, 2020
.@itsgabrielleu & @DwyaneWade are flying Deandre & his family out to LA for the Oscars and taking care of their loding/car service & our partners at @Dove are giving Deandre & his mom the red carpet treatment by taking care of their tickets, wardrobe & glam for the big night. pic.twitter.com/WSEB8lYauN
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) January 31, 2020
This is the full video we sent Deandre @itsgabrielleu @DwyaneWade @Dove pic.twitter.com/kcW288b6JY
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) January 31, 2020