Ellen DeGeneres gives scholarship to black teen who was suspended for not cutting dreads
Ellen DeGeneres gifts DeAndre Arnold $20,000 scholarship after he was suspended for not cutting his dreads.
Ellen DeGeneres is out here doing the Lord’s work. DeGeneres recently gifted DeAndre Arnold with a $20,000 scholarship after he was suspended from high school for not cutting his dreadlocks.
She heard about the black teen’s unfortunate situation and invited him on “The Ellen Show.”
“You get good grades. You’ve never been in trouble, ever. This is the first time anything has come up. And now you haven’t been in school for weeks because of this situation,” DeGeneres said.
“And do the girls have long hair?” DeGeneres asked. “There’s plenty of girls with long hair at my school,” Arnold explained. “If girls can have long hair, why can’t I have long hair?”
Alicia Keys came out and presented Arnold with a $20,000 scholarship check so that he could follow his dreams of going to college to become a veterinarian.
“I’m super proud of you for standing up for what you know is right. I know the school needs to do the right thing. Me and Ellen called our friends at Shutterfly because we know that you’re a special person,” Keys said. “And we know you’re destined for such greatness and we wanted to support that greatness and invest in that greatness. So we wanted to present you with a check for $20,000.”
Arnold is currently suspended because his dreadlocks don’t meet the school district’s dress code. Arnold told KPRC that his hair was in compliance with the school rules until recently.
His mother says that after Christmas break, the school district changed their dress code. The new rules say “hair must be clean and well groomed” and a male student’s hair cannot extend below the eyebrows, ear lobes and the top of their T-shirt collar, even when it’s let down.
As a result of the rule change, Arnold, whose family is Trinidadian, has not been allowed back in school and can’t attend graduation until he follows the dress code. His mother says that her son will “absolutely not” cut his dreads.
Check out the video below.