In 2019, 17-year-old Kerion Washington was rejected from a job at Six Flags Over Texas because he had "extreme" locs, as Blavity previously reported.

"They told me that I couldn't have dreads because it's more of an extreme hairstyle," Washington said at the time.

Corrie Caster, head of development for IMG Models, later heard Washington's story and offered an opportunity for the teen to work with the agency.

“I scout the world looking for talent and stories,” Caster told The Dallas Morning News. “I didn’t know his story then, but he had a lot of the physical features we look for in our models.”

Kaden Bradford, a teen at Barbers Hill High School in Texas, prevailed in a lawsuit last year after he filed a complaint against the school for suspending him because of his locs, as Blavity previously reported. 

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, saying Bradford's "rights under the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment will be violated if his motion for a preliminary injunction is denied, and he has additionally shown that he will receive either inferior instruction or no instruction if his motion is denied."

Cindy Bradford said her son has been growing out his hair since sixth grade. According to the teen's mother, the school's principal initially said the boy could keep his locs if he wore them pulled back, but then made it an issue. 

“He had [locs] last year. He took a headband and pushed them off his shoulders. [The school] said if he kept them up like that it was no problem,” Cindy said, according to ABC News. 

Andrew Johnson, a high school wrestler in New Jersey, was forced to cut his locs on the mat before a match in 2018. The referee, Alan Maloney, was suspended for two wrestling seasons after forcing the boy to cut his hair, as Blavity previously reported. 

"Racial discrimination in the enforcement of the rules of any sport is inconsistent with the spirit of fair play,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. “The Division on Civil Rights' action today makes it less likely that any student-athlete will have to endure discrimination that not only undermines fair competition but also violates our state laws."

According to The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, it is illegal to have “grooming or appearance policies that ban, limit or restrict hairstyles closely associated with being Black, including, but not limited to, twists, braids, cornrows, Afros, locs, Bantu knots and fades.”

Maloney threatened to sue the state for emotional distress and defamation after facing suspension, according to NBC News.

Another student from Barbers Hill High School, senior DeAndre Arnold, garnered nationwide support last year after he was suspended from school and told he can't attend his graduation because of the length of his locs. Celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Alicia Keys advocated for the teen, as Blavity previously reported. 

The two entertainers awarded Arnold with a $20,000 college scholarship. 

"You get good grades," DeGeneres told the student on her show. "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. I just personally think you should be able to wear your hair however you want, especially if there's girls with long hair." 

Chastity Jones, A Black Alabama woman who lost a job offer because she refused to cut her locs, asked the Supreme Court to hear her case in 2018, Vox reports. 

An HR manager allegedly told Jones during her interview that locs violated the company’s grooming policy because they “tend to get messy.” 

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund advocated for Jones.

“Black women who wish to succeed in the workplace feel compelled to undertake costly, time-consuming, and harsh measures to conform their natural hair to a stereotyped look of professionalism that mimics the appearance of White women’s hair,” Jones' lawyers wrote in their petition to the Supreme Court.

A New York salon came under fire in 2019 after several employees complained about the company's hair policy. A New York Times report revealed multiple complaints were filed between 2016 and 2018.

David Speer, a white former general manager, said he was forced to implement a hair policy that only affected Black workers at the salon.

Ida Nelson, a Black mother in Chicago, called for change earlier this year after her 4-year-old son’s braids were documented as a dress code violation at his private school. 

"I said, 'We still have policies related to Black hair in 2021, as an all-Black school? I'm really shocked about that,'" Nelson said. "We have progressed, we have so much more information. I thought surely this school would understand the trauma associated with policing Black hair and absolutely not have a policy like that."