One of the very first ACLU of MAINE legal cases involved a high school student who was suspended from school for having hair that was too long. A stern letter from the ACLU of MAINE was all it took to get the student back in school. Justice Louis Scolnik, one of the ACLU of MAINE’s founders, told me this story once so I would not feel bad about going too long between haircuts.
But long hair is not just a matter of fashion (or lack thereof)—sometimes how people wear there hair is deeply connected to their religious identity. That is why I was so pleased to read about the success our colleagues at the ACLU of Texas in protecting the religious freedom of a five-year-old American Indian, who was punished for violating a school rule forbidding him from wearing his hair in a long braid, which is an expression of his religious beliefs and heritage.
Defending freedom of religion is one of our highest priorities at the ACLU. We’ve had some successes here in Maine too. Watch this space for information about some of our upcoming work. . . .
