Cut it out: Kansas should ban racist rules against Black hairstyles | Editorial

The way people choose to wear their hair — long, short, up, down, straight or curly — should not affect their prospects for jobs, promotions or school activities.

That’s why the Kansas lawmakers should support a bill re-introduced by Wichita Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau that would prohibit bans on specific hairstyles, especially traditionally Black hairstyles such as dreadlocks, twists or braids.

Faust-Goudeau and other supporters call it the CROWN Act, which stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World (or Workplace) for Natural Hair.” It died in committee last year when COVID-19 halted business, but the Kansas City Council approved a local version last fall.

The reason is simple: Targeting a group of people that wears a particular hairstyle is discrimination. Period.

And if you think such things don’t happen — this is 2021, after all, right? — just observe what happened to an Ottawa University cheerleader last month:

Talyn Jefferson told The Kansas City Star that she refused to remove a hair bonnet during a cheerleading practice because she worried her long braids might hit a teammate in the face. Her refusal led to a racist rant from her coach, Jefferson said. She was kicked out of practice — and then kicked off the squad.

In 2018, a video of a referee cutting the dreadlocks off of a New Jersey high school wrestler went viral and drew widespread debate about policies that prohibit certain hairstyles.

Faust-Goudeau, who is Black and wears her hair down and natural, said she was distressed to learn that some workplaces require women to alter their natural hairstyles.

Those policies, which are aimed at traditionally Black hairstyles and hair textures, are rooted in racism and must stop — in workplaces as well as in schools, where dress codes often label dreadlocks, hair extensions, mohawks, or stylized fade haircuts as “inappropriate.”

A nationwide CROWN Act measure passed the U.S. House by a voice vote last fall. The U.S. Senate hasn’t acted.

Kansas, though, could — and should — make a statement against racism and discrimination by passing the law.

Hairstyles are a form of cultural and individual self-expression. For too long, Black people — and especially Black women — have been punished or penalized for simply being themselves. That seldom happens with man buns, hipster beards, dyed hair or other typically white fashion statements.

Passing the CROWN Act and ending hair discrimination is a small but important step toward combating racism, and the Kansas Legislature should make it happen.