Black student at Hawaii Mormon school says he’s fighting order to cut hair

A Black student at Brigham Young University-Hawaii has been asked by school staff to cut his shoulder-length hair, citing violations of the university's "honor code." Kanaan VyShonne Barton, in defiance of the request, has been in a dispute with the school since September, asserting that his locs are culturally significant and not a hindrance to his spiritual or academic commitments.

BYU-Hawaii's honor code dictates "neatly trimmed" hair without specific length guidelines. Barton, expressing the importance of his locs to his identity as a Black American of Afro-Guyanese descent, believes he shouldn't have to alter his appearance to pursue education. He mentioned efforts to compromise by styling his locs above the collar.

Brigham Young University’s Hawaii campus

The university, a part of the Church of Latter Day Saints, enforces strict rules on behavior, dress, and grooming, but Barton's case highlights the clash between cultural identity and institutional regulations. BYU-Hawaii has not yet responded to inquiries regarding Barton's situation.

BYU was named after Brigham Young, the former president of the Mormon church. As president Young formalized a ban on Black people from serving in the priesthood.

In 2013 the church said it now rejected previous teachings.

“The church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavour or curse, or that it reflects actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else,” the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement.

“Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.”