Update (July 8, 2019): Kerion Washington made headlines in March when Six Flags Over Texas rejected the 17-year-old’s application for a summer job. Months later, it appears Washington is well on his way to securing a bag without the help of the amusement park.
Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that Corrie Caster, head of development for IMG Models sent the teen an Instagram message after an associate sent the talent scout Washington’s story.
“I scout the world looking for talent and stories,” Caster explained. “I didn’t know his story then, but he had a lot of the physical features we look for in our models.”
IMG Models represents the likes of Chrissy Teigen and Kate Moss. After working with Texas-based modeling agency Jones Model Management, Caster traveled to Austin for Washington’s first shoot with the organization.
Washington said the shoot wasn't the least bit difficult. He added, “It was easy work, and it was really fun.”
When they believe the teen is prepared, Jones Model Management will approach IMG to consider Washington’s profile. Caster hopes this will open many doors for the teen outside of modeling.
“I hope he’s successful and able to have a platform to use his voice to talk about things that mean something to him, because he will be put in those positions. I truly believe this story has to be told, and has to be told over and over again.”
As for Six Flags? The company recently changed the guidelines of what counts as an appropriate hairstyle in the wake of Washington’s experience.
“Male team members may now wear dreadlocks,” communications manager Sharon Parker wrote to The New York Daily News in an email.
Original story: A Texas teen and his mother are reeling from a job interview at Six Flags in which the boy was denied a summer position because he has "extreme" locs.
Kerion Washington, the 17-year-old Six Flags Over Texas applicant, told NBCDFW 5 that he has been growing and grooming his locs for three years.
"I just don't even believe it," he told the publication. "That I would have to do that just to work there. They told me that I couldn't have dreads because it's more of an extreme hairstyle."
Karis Washington, his mother, says she researched and found that the company's grooming policy only states that your hair "cannot hang more than 2 inches below your collar and 2 inches above your head including dreads, braids, etc.," not that they're not allowed at all.
The Fort Worth mother detailed her frustrations on Facebook Saturday to vent. Uploading a photo of her son looking polished for the interview, she said that she was further disappointed after she called the corporation's human resources office to complain.
She says the HR correspondent even compared her son's shoulder-length locs to tattoos and piercings, calling it an "extreme hairstyle" and contradicting the policy she read.
"[The HR correspondent] said they gave [my son] the opportunity to come back when he [doesn't] have dreads," she wrote. "She said dreads are NOT allowed but he can have braids."
"Why cut his hair for a seasonal job and for $7-$9 an hour?" Karis asked NBCDFW 5. "If it was a career, different story."
Kerion says he was hoping to use the money to assist his mother with bills over the summer. It was his first time being interviewed for a job and would have been his first gig.
"Not everybody is going to accept you," Karis said she told her son. "But when one door closes another one will open."
Karis' Facebook post was shared over 17,000 times and gained the attention of many; some responded with encouragement, support and legal advice.
"He is a very handsome, well dressed young man. I cannot imagine why his hair would have been an issue," wrote one.
A second wrote, "Get a lawyer and sue. This is against the law, no matter what others say."
"Take your son to the mall," a third responded. "He's 17 and will find a job there or try the City of Arlington and see if they have a summer job program for high schoolers. My nephew has dreads and he's a college student with a part-time job. This pisses me off!"
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports another teen, 16-year-old Brandon Kobe Pierce, was also rejected from a summer job for having braids past his shoulder. Pierce commented that he felt discriminated, adding that women and girls who have long braids are allowed to put their hair up in buns, while men are not allowed to wear them at the establishment at all.
Six Flags Over Texas responded to the controversy, releasing a statement to NBCDFW defending its stance.
"Six Flags is one of the largest seasonal employers in the country, hiring more than 30,000 team members across 26 parks annually," the statement reads. "We maintain a company-wide grooming code that includes standard uniforms for front-line team members and no extreme hairstyles such as drastic variations in hair color, locks or partially shaven heads."
"We do permit braids and we also recognize that some team members may request accommodations to our grooming code due to religious, cultural or medical reasons," it continued. "We work with those team members on a case-by-case basis to address his or her individual needs."
Karis says she and Kerion are moving on from employment opportunities at the amusement park. She also shared that her son received many job opportunities following the viral post, and he will soon be working at a place where he feels welcomed.
