Bill banning discrimination against hairstyles closer to becoming law - Spectrum News
More than a dozen states have banned discrimination against someone based on how they wear their hair -- and now there is a push in Congress for the federal government to do the same. The House just approved a federal ban and now the legislation goes to the Senate.
Supporters say a federal law is needed because Black people are sometimes singled out in schools and workplaces because of their hair.
“I try to encourage people to embrace what they have,” said Danielle Butler, a hair stylist who owns Hair Rayz Glowin, a salon in Hyattsville, MD.
Butler says far too many of her clients are afraid to wear their natural hair at work or for job interviews.
“It’s disheartening to hear that people in the corporate world want people to change and be so uniform and cookie cutter, that’s not the way the world works,” she said during an interview at her salon with Spectrum News.
"If you wear it like that it’s perceived as ghetto or ratchet or something, no that’s our culture,” she added.
Butler hopes these pressures will end after the U.S. House passed the CROWN Act earlier this month, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The bill would ban discrimination based on hair style or texture. The bill explicitly states that “people of African descent” are “routinely deprived of educational and employment opportunities for hairstyles.” Those styles include twists, braids, cornrows and Afros.
“Nobody should have to sacrifice their time, their money and the health of their hair for the sake of complying with racist standards of professionalism,” said Rep. Bonnie Coleman Watson (D) New Jersey, who sponsored the legislation.
President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the bill but it may have trouble getting through the Senate, where Democrats barely have a majority. Some Republicans say protections against hair discrimination already exist under federal law. Others see the bill as a distraction.’
“They gotta get with the times,” Butler said.
Butler said passing the legislation federally would send a powerful message to black children like her daughter, Alaura.
“That’s why I like her being here at the shop with me, just so she could start to understand and love her hair,” she said.
“You got to teach them early to love their hair and just accept it, because it’s not going anywhere.”
She hopes others will feel more willing to express themselves moving forward.
“Some people are just not aware that this is an issue. The fact that we are bringing it to the forefront and bringing it to light and other people see it’s a problem, maybe they can start to change,” Butler said.
source: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/news/2022/03/31/hair-discrimination-bill-closer-to-becoming-federal-law
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