CROWN Act’s failure in West Virginia comes after years of Black hair advocacy
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
R epublican lawmakers in West Virginia have killed a bill that would have banned discrimination against Black hairstyles, known as the CROWN Act, in a blow for Black hair advocates in the state.
On Feb. 28, lawmakers decided on the swath of bills to be considered for the remainder of the legislative session. The CROWN Act wasn’t one of the ones to be considered.
Sen. Eric Tarr, a Republican, pulled the bill on Feb. 23 and sent it to the Senate Finance Committee, which he chairs. There, he let the bill stall, holding that hair discrimination lawsuits would cost the state too much money, according to the Mountain State Spotlight and a spokesperson for the Legislature.
“It was definitely a slap in the face. I was extremely disappointed because I felt that this year was the year that it would see its way through” the Legislature, said Veronica Bunch, 44, who has advocated for the CROWN Act in West Virginia in recent years. “The leadership we have, and the state itself, I just feel like we’re so regressed in our opinions and our views. In regards to African Americans, we tend to get pushed aside.”
The state’s most recent version of the bill, SB 496 , would have barred discrimination based on “hair textures and protective styles historically associated with a particular race.” Democratic Sen. Mike Caputo introduced it.
Advocates have pushed lawmakers to pass such a bill for years, especially after families began to speak out publicly about hair discrimination. In 2019, a Beckley, West Virginia, high school basketball coach reportedly benched a Black teen over the length of his dreadlocks. The teen’s mother, Tarsha Bolt, has since spoken out about the situation while advocating for the CROWN Act.
LINK TO SEEDED ARTICLE: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/crown-act-s-failure-in-west-virginia-comes-after-years-of-black-hair-advocacy/ar-BB1jv2FZ?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=8cddf2f020894b88bb2a22b1376e29d8&ei=75
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You have to wonder why kid's hair is so important to the school districts especially blacks and Native Americans hair.
it's another unconstitutional battle from the 60's they really need to fight and win, before they check out...
Without a doubt, devan.
all the americans that ever died defending our freedoms are now spinning in their graves...
In all about control, IMO devan.
no doubt. too bad the rednecks don't have to pay off the school districts losing lawsuits...
I am actually in favor of uniforms in all schools but I don't extend it to hairstyles - they should have that individuality
Interesting on your part, JR uniforms but individualism on hair.
My mother was a public school teacher for many years and she thought all schools should have uniforms for the reason that there could be a great disparty between what wealthier students' parents could afford to buy them to wear versus what less wealthy parents could afford, sometimes leading to the wealthier kids making fun of the less wealthy kids, and for issues of self-esteem.
It happened to me when I went to school. I was one of the less fortunate ones. I also had no fashion sense
Yeah me too. Sometimes I wore the same pants for a week.
One of my cousins has color blindness of some sort. You should have seen the outfits he used to put together.
When I was a kid one of my mother's friends came from a wealthy family. She had a son who was two years older than me. We went to their house to visit a couple of times a year and my mother's friend would pull really nice clothes that my parents couldn't afford out of the closet to give to me that her son had outgrown, sometimes never worn with the tags still on them. After I outgrew them, they went to my brother who is younger than me, and eventually I would see some of my younger cousins wearing them.
I can understand that, G.
Same with me, but I did have an excuse it was the only pair of pants that I had. I actually had two pair but one of my brothers wore those....
Oh, nonsense I've heard that you were always on the cutting edge of fashion.
Clothing that was known as ''experienced''
I wore my cousin's hand me downs. She had nice clothes and I was grateful to get them
LOL!
I also had two pair but both of them were a bit "high water" style LOL.
It was stalled because it may cost the state too much money in lawsuits? If you enact the bill it becomes law then everyone should know to shut up about hair styles and leave people alone.
Or is it too much to ask for folks to just live and let live?
It's far too much for one segment of our society and it is a mission for them to target black and NA kids.
well some think , because they are white, they know whats best , and their argument is airtight, because they are on the 'right', leaving them WRONG , and US, not right, asz they suffocate and pontificate in a whirled they wish spun in their twisted perception of how we should be as one, with them, and as they say, but don't be lesbian or gay, or say, anything different than what they decide should be the norm, cause their minds are a bit de formed from bigotry's groan from seeded prejudices planted in small minds, that they, and they a loan have the best interests for US A LL
For decades they have targeted Native American kids even when they were protected by the 1978 AIRFA (American Indian Religious Freedom Act) schools districts have lost case after case in an attempt to cut NA's kids hair.
During the Indian Boarding School era, 1890 to 1970s they first thing that was done was to cut off your hair to destroy links to your culture.
some residents of gooberville expect exceptions to the constitution that are sensitive to their willful ignorance and bigotry...