House passes CROWN Act banning discrimination against Black hairstyles [View all]
Source: NBC News
The House on Friday passed the CROWN Act, which would ban hair-related discrimination.
The measure, H.R. 2116, passed in a vote of 235-189 along party lines. It was introduced 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 bill will now go to the Senate for consideration.
The legislation states that “routinely, people of African descent are deprived of educational and employment opportunities” for wearing their hair in natural or protective hairstyles such as 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 said in remarks on the House floor 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."
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/house-passes-crown-act-banning-discrimination-black-hairstyles-rcna20617
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