HOUSTON — The Texas Legislative Black Caucus has announced it’s working on a bill that would ban discrimination based on hair textures and styles commonly associated with race following the suspension of a black high school student near Houston.
State lawmakers, accompanied by black officials and advocates, introduced the CROWN Act at a press conference on Thursday, the Texas Tribune reported.
CROWN stands for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, and the measure would protect against “unjust grooming policies that have a disparate impact on black children, women, and men” in workplaces and public schools, CROWN Coalition advocate Adjoa Asamoah said. The coalition is a national alliance of organizations working to end hair discrimination.
The bill is a show of support for students like Deandre Arnold, who was suspended from Hill High School in Mont Belvieu and won’t be able to attend graduation unless he cuts his dreadlocks.
