Nicknamed Crown, for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“Create a respectful and open world for natural hair“) law 2116 intended to prohibit discrimination related to hair styles was adopted by the United States House of Representatives.
If it passes the Senate, Crown will prohibit any entity from refusing to hire, train or continue to employ someone because of their hairstyle. It will also ban hair-related discrimination in public places, especially in schools.
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“Natural afro hair is often deemed “unprofessional” simply because it doesn’t conform to white beauty standards.“, justifies Bonnie Watson Coleman, the Democratic representative of New Jersey who defended the measure in the House of Representatives.
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Similar laws already exist at the local level in fourteen states and more than thirty cities, but the Crown Act would allow this particular type of discrimination to become prohibited at the federal level, that is to say on the entire territory of the United States.
Crown is the culmination of many years of activism on the part of activists revolted against the prohibition (explicit or not) by certain schools and companies of haircuts such as locks or afros.
A first legislative attempt had failed in February, the Republicans believing that the problem was solved thanks to local regulations. After being finally passed in the House on Friday March 18, this new law is almost certain to pass the Senate, with the Democratic Party holding a majority, and the White House having already supported the proposal.
www.slate.fr
