Pages past - Feb. 26

On this date ...

1970: A black airman, court-martialed because of his Afro haircut, returned to duty at Cannon Air Force Base to find his hair was now in compliance with new regulations.

Capt. Robert Stewart, August Doyle’s attorney, said Doyle had met with Cannon officials for 2 1/2 hours and learned his haircut was within standards set by the Air Force Manual following a change approved Feb. 18.

The new standard allowed hair to be one-quarter inch in length on the sides and 1 1/2 inches in depth on top.

Stewart said the new regulation pertained to all airmen, not just the black airmen.

Three months earlier, Doyle said he believed the order to cut his Afro-style was unlawful because it was an expression of his black cultural identity.

A five-member hearing board found Doyle guilty of “willful disobedience of a lawful order” and sentenced him to three months of hard labor and reduced his rank from airman first class to airman basic. Doyle was also fined $180.

Doyle, 21, later told Jet magazine he had learned what it’s like to “challenge the white-oriented system.”

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