Ever since the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, there have been massive protests all across the country. These demonstrations have been organized and met with a ton of resistance from the police. Regardless, people continue to protest the injustices that have been committed for years and it's a beautiful sight to see everyone so united. Athletes have been adding their voice to these discussions and some have even shown up to protests.

Damian Lillard is one of those players as, over the past couple of days, he has been spotted walking arm in arm with protesters in Portland, Oregon. The images of Lillard's presence in these protests have been quite powerful and on Twitter, he continues to speak out against police brutality and the horrific images that have been a mainstay on the news.

Last week, a Texas teen by the name of DeAndre Arnold was told that he would not be able to participate in his high school graduation ceremony unless he cut off his locs. Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, claims that the teen's hair goes against the district's dress code and was placed under in-school suspension. Since then, Arnold and his mother Sandy, have addressed the school's oppressive practices and refused to deny the teen of representing his Trinidadian roots. 

After gaining the attention of national media outlets, DeAndre and his mother were invited as guests to The Ellen Show to discuss the Barbers Hill Independent School District's recently instated policy that has Arnold, an 'A' and 'B' student, disinvited to his own graduation ceremony. Ellen DeGeneres kicked off the conversation with the 18-year-old expressing her support of Arnold's decision to not comply with the demands of the Texas-based institution. 

DeAndre explained how his locs are currently relevant to his Trinidadian culture and how the school is attempting to force into alternative school for the remainder of his high school career. The bright teen also revealed that he wants to attend college in order to be a veterinarian. 

After revealing his frustration with the school and his post-graduation plans, Ellen pleaded into the camera for Arnold's school district to reconsider letting the student walk the graduation stage alongside his peers this spring. Then the Emmy Award-winning talk show host called upon Alicia Keys, who hosted the 2020 Grammys, to present DeAndre with a scholarship worth $20,000 for his upcoming collegiate endeavors. 

CNN reached out to the school's superintendent, Greg Poole, last week who stated:

"People want to call us racist, but we're following the rules, the law of the land. We're certainly not making this up," in defense of the school's dress code policy. 

With the oppression of black hairstyles being a common theme in society, hopefully, DeAndre Arnold and others continue to stand against the injustices brought up against alternative cultural lifestyles and aesthetics. 

Check out the DeAndre Arnold's full Ellen Show interview below and look out for Alicia Keys' new album, A.L.I.C.I.A (2020), to drop in the month of March. 

DeAndre Arnold, a senior preparing to graduate from Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, has been informed by the school’s administration that he will not be able to participate in his graduation ceremony unless he cuts off his Locs. According to KPCR Houston, despite DeAndre having Locs for years and wearing his hair in compliance with the school’s dress code, he has been placed under in-school suspension.

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His mother, Sandy Arnold, declared that the school’s policy in regards to hairstyles states that, “(hair must be) off the shoulders above the earlobes and out of the eyes.” However, the mother revealed that the high school changed their dress code policy following Christmas break, just three months before the institution’s graduation ceremony.

DeAndre who is known for excelling in school and receives dual credit in his classes as an ‘A’ and ‘B’ student is of Trinidadian descent. He takes pride in his heritage, culture, and hair. In a statement given to KPCR, the teen stated:

“I really like that part of Trinidadian culture; I really embrace that.” In regards to the unethical treatment of his hair and the school’s new policy, he added, “They say that even (when) my hair is up if it were down it would be not in compliance with the dress code. However, I don’t take it down in school.”

According to the updated version of the Barbers Hill Student Handbook, male students’ hair can’t fall below the eyebrows and earlobes and can’t “extend below the top of a T-shirt collar.”

The Barbers Hill School District released a written statement saying:

“We do have a community-supported hair length policy & have had for decades. Barbers Hill is a state leader with high expectations in all areas!”

Unfortunately, DeAndre’s mother, Sandy has reached out to the school district’s superintendent and district board members to no avail. Sandy also stated that her son is currently no longer welcome at school and will not be able to walk the graduation stage unless his Locs are cut.

When asked if she was going to comply, Sandy responded, “Absolutely not, this is a part of who he is. So absolutely not going to cut his hair.”

In the past, high school institutions have attempted to police cultural hairstyles and faced extreme backlash, while those who appropriate hairstyles don’t understand the socio-political stigma of wearing one’s hair a certain way. At the end of the day, everyone should be in control of their own natural hair journey. 

Check out the full story of DeAndre Arnold’s dress code struggle with Barbers Hill High School in the video provided below. 

If you’re a fan of Kodak Black, this is going to be very difficult to read. Upon first glance, supporters of the Florida rapper were excited to see him update his social media today but, diving deeper, his captions left us all scared for his safety and well-being while in prison. Kodak Black, real name Bill K. Kapri, will be spending the next few years behind bars but he’s unimpressed with the way he has been treated, issuing a public statement about how disgusting and inhumane things have been.

“Lieutenant F. Arroyo has been very vindictive towards me and I have a strong feeling it has something to do with me being set up, laced, bruised and brutally beaten two weeks before my court date,” wrote the superstar recording artist to start off his message. He continued by detailing a “conspiracy” against him before going into detail, causing us to worry about the star.

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“One morning, she pulled me out my cell to tell me she is going to ‘Take my pretty little girlfriend off my visitation list’. For no other reason but to add insult to my distress. Not being able to see my significant other while locked away in this hell hole,” wrote Kodak before things got even worse. “Also, I was denied visit with my mother on December 23, two days before Christmas. Not only does my incoming mail take an average of a month To get to me but they are messing with my outgoing mail as well. My family hasn’t received none of my letters for the holidays. Which is borderline cruel and unethical, but as if all this is not enough, on December 31 New Year’s Eve to be exact, I was handed an empty tray for breakfast. I brought it to their attention, but nothing was done for me. Since the camera shows them entering a tray through my flap, but meanwhile there is nothing in my tray when i opened it.”

That wasn’t all Kodak had to say. He legitimately believes that he’s going to die in prison, comparing his situation to another inmate who was refused medical treatment for a serious condition, like himself. “They are strategically killing me slowly in here. I have been humiliated over and over again,” he wrote. 

Read his full message in the posts below and pray for Kodak Black.