The House of Representatives on Friday passed the Crown Act, which bans discrimination related to hair.
measure HR 2116, passed in a vote of 235–189 along party lines. It was submitted by Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, DN.J.
The crown symbolizes the creation of a respectable and open world for natural hair, and the law prohibits “discrimination based on an individual’s texture or hair style.” The bill now goes to the Senate.
The legislation provides for this “Routinely, people of African descent are denied education and employment opportunities “to wear their hair in natural or protective hairstyles such as placemats, corns, twists, braids, bantu knots, or afro.
“Here we are today, standing on behalf of those individuals—whether or not my colleagues recognize them on the other side—who are discriminated against as children in school, adults trying to get jobs, individuals trying to get housing, individuals who simply want to access public accommodations and be Taking advantage of federally funded programs,” Watson Coleman said in remarks on the House floor Friday morning.
She said this demonstrates the necessity of the bill, because there are people in positions of authority who “think your hair is weird, braided, knotted or not straight and blonde and light brown, you’re not in a way. You deserve to get into those issues.”
“Well, that’s discrimination,” she added.
“There is no rationale for discriminating against a person at any level because of the texture of their hair or the style of their hair,” Watson Coleman said.
Without naming him, she referred to Andrew Johnson, a black New Jersey high school wrestler with dreadlocks who in 2018 was forced to choose: cut his hair or drop his match.
“This bill is very important,” she said. “It’s important for young girls and boys who have to cut their hair in the middle of a wrestling match in front of everyone because some white referee says your hair is not suitable for the match.”
Biden administration this week He said It “strongly supports” the Crown Act and “looks forward to working with Congress to enact this legislation and ensure that it is effectively implemented.” More than a dozen states, including New Jersey and New York, have issued copies of the Crown Act. California was the first state to do so.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, told colleagues Friday that the bill should have unanimous support. Fourteen Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
“Our military took steps to end discrimination in hair last year,” said Hoyer, who is white. “If anyone thought this wasn’t a real issue, obviously the military thought it was an issue. And it was an important enough issue to take action.”
He said it was disappointing that 188 Republicans opposed the legislation when it was recently introduced as part of an expedited process. Like Watson Coleman, other proponents of the bill cited a number of children – directly and indirectly – who drew national attention after being reprimanded for wearing their hair in braids, braids, or other protective methods.
Before the vote, a number of black and African American lawmakers spoke of being discriminated against because of their hair.
“As a black woman who loves my braids, I know the feeling of isolation because of the way I wear my hair,” Rep. Corey Bush, Democrat, said on the House floor. “This is the last time we say: No more making black people feel we have to straighten our hair to be considered professionals.”
Representative Gwen Moore, a Democrat, said someone told a former employer she was “embarrassed” because of the way her hair looked.
She accused some of her colleagues, such as Representative Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, of avoiding talking about discrimination that disproportionately affects blacks. Jordan said on Friday it wanted to focus on gas prices, inflation and issues of importance to “the American people” and accused Democrats of distracting attention from those issues.
In response to Jordan’s remarks, Representative Al Green of Texas said, “Blacks are Americans, too. And when you say the American people don’t want that, you can’t exclude blacks. Blacks are going to get this to be on the floor. That’s a kitchen table problem in households.” black.”
[ad_2]
