The House on Friday handed the CROWN Act, which might ban hair-related discrimination.
The measure, H.R. 2116, handed in a vote of 235-189 alongside celebration strains. It was launched by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., CROWN stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. It prohibits “discrimination based on an individual’s texture or style of hair.” The invoice will now go to the Senate for consideration.
The laws states that “routinely, people of African descent are deprived of educational and employment opportunities” for carrying their hair in pure or protecting hairstyles akin to locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, or Afros.
“Here we are today, standing on behalf of those individuals, whether my colleagues on the other side recognize it or not, are discriminated against as children in school, as adults who are trying to get jobs, individuals who are trying to get housing, individuals who simply want access to public accommodations and to be beneficiaries of federally-funded programs,” Watson stated in remarks on the House ground Friday morning. “And why are they denied these opportunities? Because there are folks in this society who get to make those decisions who think because you’re hair is kinky, it is braided, it is in knots or it is not straight and blonde and light brown, that you somehow are not worthy of access to those issues.”
“Well,” she added, “that’s discrimination.”
“There’s no logical reason that anyone should be discriminated against on any level because of the texture of their hair or the style of their hair,” Watson Coleman stated.
Without naming him, she referenced Andrew Johnson, a Black varsity highschool wrestler in New Jersey with dreadlocks who was compelled in 2018 to choose: lower his hair or forfeit his match.
“This bill is vitally important,” she stated. “It’s important to the young girls and the young boys who have to cut their hair in the middle of a wrestling match in front of everyone because some white referee says that your hair is inappropriate to engage in your match.”
Before a vote was taken, various Black and African American legislators spoke of getting been discriminated against due to their hair.
Gwen Moore, D-Wisconsin, stated somebody had informed a earlier employer that she was “an embarrassment” due to the best way her hair regarded.
She accused a few of her colleagues, akin to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who stated Friday that he needed to give attention to problems with significance to Americans, of avoiding a dialog about discrimination that disproportionately impacts Black folks. Al Green, D-Texas, who’s African American, invoked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in expressing his help for the CROWN Act.
In response to Jordan’s remarks, Green stated: “Black people are American people, too. And when you say the American people don’t want it, you cannot exclude Black people. Black people would have this be on the floor. This is a kitchen table issue in Black households.”