Student Escorted Out of Graduation by Police for Wearing a Kente Cloth

A student in Sacramento, Calif., was escorted out of his graduation because of the way he accessorized his cap and gown.

Nyree Holmes wore a kente cloth scarf — made of interwoven silk and cotton cloth strips — as a nod to his African roots. According to his series of tweets, Holmes arrived at the matriculation ceremony with the cloth, and was approached by teacher Matthew Mason as he was about to go onstage, and told to remove it. “I tell him ‘no, this is mine,‘” Holmes explained. “The[n] Mason proceeds to tell me that I cannot walk the stage with it on. And I respond, ‘but I will.'”

Holmes said Mason attempted to bring over several other teachers to try to persuade him to take off his kente cloth, but Holmes stood his ground. “I let them know that it is a cultural piece and I refuse to be forced not to take pride in who I am.” Holmes, who is an American descendant of African slaves, wanted to use the cloth to honor his heritage. He calls the piece a “cultural cloth from Ghana,” where many captives were taken from and brought to the U.S.

After Holmes refused to leave, Mason reportedly brought over a “rent-a-cop” to get the student to remove the cloth, but Holmes once again refused. “I see Mason storm out to get the police to get me before I walk,” he tweeted. “I get to the stage and I think I’m home clear. I go through shaking all the hands and smiling feeling as if I won. Them when I get to the stairs I see 3 sheriffs at the bottom of the stairs. They tell me to leave with them and I said, ‘sure guys let’s go.’ As I’m walking out I call my mom to let her know that I’m being taken out by the police. I stop to ask them if I can get my diploma and drop off my cap and gown.”

Holmes explained that he was later given his diploma by a black security guard who told him, “Much love brother, stay up and achieve more.”

The Elk Grove Unified School District issued a statement addressing Holmes’ removal from the ceremony:

“During a high school graduation ceremony held at the Sleep Train Arena located in Sacramento, CA on May 24, 2016, a Cosumnes Oaks High School (COHS) student was prohibited from participating in the remainder of the school’s graduation ceremony for refusing to follow direction of school officials who were attempting to uphold the established dress code and for ignoring repeated requests to remove unauthorized non-school award regalia. The District regrets how events unfolded in this instance; however there was no intent to discriminate against the student, as the same rules apply to every graduate. The student was allowed to walk across the stage to be recognized and took a formal picture with the principal wearing the Kente cloth. Later, the student was allowed to return to the area where students received their diplomas. The student was given his diploma. The District’s approved graduation uniform is a cap and gown. Students may wear, stoles, cords or medals that have been earned and awarded to students at prior ceremonies. Unfortunately, prior to the COHS graduation ceremony, school officials were not given the opportunity to discuss with the family the student’s desire to wear the cloth.”

Holmes was not the only victim of commencement dress codes. In Amite City, Lousiana, Amite High School graduating valedictorian Andrew Jones was barred from fulfilling his duties during the ceremony because he chose not to shave his beard before graduation. The school policy on beards reads: “Hairstyles and mustaches shall be clean, neatly groomed and shall not distract from the learning environment” and “beards will not be allowed.” But Jones maintains the policy was not strictly enforced — and that other students had marched with similar facial hair. “I refused to shave because I felt as if that was ridiculous, being that I went the whole school year with my facial hair,” he told the Washington Post. “Plus, students from other schools in the district who graduated earlier that week marched with their facial hair, so why couldn’t I?”

While there aren’t any national laws addressing dress codes, they may not discriminate based on federally protected statuses, such as disability, gender, or race. However, it should be noted that if school officials have enough evidence to conclude that an article of clothing will lead to substantial disruption of the school environment, they have the right to interfere.

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