‘Hair Love’ creators bring Texas teen, who was banned from his own graduation because he refused to cut his dreadlocks, to the Oscars
- DeAndre Arnold, 18, made headlines last month when his Texas high school banned him from walking in his own graduation due to his dreadlocks
- He was invited to Sunday’s Oscar Awards by Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union
- He was also invited by Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver, the creators of the Oscar-winning animated short Hair Love
- Arnold’s story has gained national attention and landed him on the Ellen Show
- ‘I’m standing strong because of the support system I have behind me,’ he said
- 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’
- In his Oscar acceptance speech Cherry advocated for the Crown Act, a California bill that prohibits discrimination based on hair style or texture
A Texas high school senior who was told he wasn’t allowed to participate in his graduation ceremony unless he cut off his dreadlocks was an honored guest at the 92nd Academy Awards Sunday night after his story gained national attention.
DeAndre Arnold, 18, made headlines last month when Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu banned him from walking in his own graduation because he refused to cut his long dreadlocks.
The school said his hair was too long and violated their school policy.
Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union and the creators of Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver, invited Arnold to attend the star-studded Oscars ceremony.
Hair Love ended up winning the Oscar for best animated short. The seven-minute short film that tells the story of a black father struggling then finally mastering how to do his young daughter’s hair.
Texas teen DeAndre Arnold, 18, who was banned from attending his own graduation because his dreadlocks were too long, beamed as he appeared on the red carpet at the Oscars on Sunday night, after he was invited by Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union and the creators of the short animated film Hair Love
Arnold pictured in a green suit alongside Hair Love creators Karen Ruper Toliver (third from right) and Matthew A Cherry (second left)
Cherry posted a picture with Arnold on Twitter before they attended the glamorous award ceremony saying,’He sure is. We got his back’
‘It means the world to us to have him here with us. We wanted people to see how good of a kid he is, but also there’s no reason people should be policing our hair,’ Hair Love co-creator and former NFL player Matthew Cherry said.
‘I’m standing strong because of the support system I have behind me,’ Arnold said.
His story has gained national attention, prodded the Texas Legislative Black Caucus to create a bill that bans discrimination based on hair textures and styles commonly associated with race, and landed him on the Ellen show where singer Alicia Keys presented him with a check for $20,000.
Keys said she and Ellen, in collaboration with photography company Shutterfly, were investing in his ‘greatness’ as she handed over a check for to support his ambition of being a veterinarian.
Speaking on Ellen, Arnold said he did not want to cut his hair because it’s ‘really important’ to him and bears significance in his father’s Trinidadian culture.
‘It’s part of our culture and our heritage. And I really wish the school would kind of be open to other cultures and just at least let us try to tell you some things. Don’t just shut us out,’ he said on the show.
Hair Love creators Karen Rupert Toliver and Matthew A. Cherry won the Oscar for best animated short and advocated for the Crown Act in their acceptance speech, a California bill that prohibits discrimination based on hair style or texture
Cherry and Toliver pictured victoriously posing with their Academy Awards
On Sunday night as Hair Love creators Matthew Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver shared their thank you speeches, they advocated for the Crown Act, a California law that prohibits discrimination based on hair style or texture, as they accepted their awards.
‘Hair Love was done because we wanted to see more representation in animation and we wanted to normalize black hair,’ Cherry said as the audience cheered.
‘There’s a very important issue that’s out there, the Crown Act, and if we can help to get this passed in all 50 states it will help stories like Deandre Arnold, who is our special guest tonight, stop to happen,’ he added.
Arnold’s story gained national recognition and landed him on the Ellen show. Keys said she and Ellen, in collaboration with photography company Shutterfly, were investing in his ‘greatness’ as she handed over a check for to support his ambition of being a veterinarian
Out of code: ‘Every day I would go to school I would always be in dress code. But the thing with them is, if it was let down, I would be out of dress code,’ Arnold said