Black people who wear natural hairstyles like Afros, cornrows or tightly coiled twists should not face bias in society, schools and the workplace, the House said Friday in voting to make it explicit that such discrimination is a violation of federal civil rights law.
“There are folks in this society who think because your hair is kinky, it is braided, it is in knots or it is not straightened blonde and light brown, that you somehow are not worthy of access,” Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, the lead sponsor of the bill, said during debate on the House floor. “Well, that’s discrimination.”
