Hairstyles and racism: US Congress moves to ban discrimination of hairstyles

The United States House of Representatives voted on Friday (March 18) to ban discrimination on hairstyles such as afros, braids, dreadlocks, which could be associated with a particular race or national origin. The bill now moves to the Senate.

The bill is aimed to help and protect those Black Americans who have been asked or forced to cut their hair or style it in a certain way while at school or work.

Cori Bush, who is a Black representative from Missouri, just before the vote said, "As a Black woman who loves my braids, I know what it's like to feel isolated because of how I wear my hair."

Amid a rise in the cases of racism in the United States in recent years, discrimination based on hairstyles emerged as a new form of race discrimination.

Reports and studies have highlighted that minorities have suffered hair discrimination for years and African American women face the highest instances of hair discrimination. It has been found that they are more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair.

In the past, numerous instances of this kind of discrimination have risen to public attention in the United States. In late 2019, a Black teen in Texas was suspended from school and threatened with expulsion if she did not cut her dreadlocks. The officials had said that dreadlocks were too long.

Another case occurred in December 2018, when a referee forced a Black wrestler to cut his hair or face disqualification, arguing that his hairstyle was against the rules.

The White House said President Joe Biden supports the bill, and underlined his belief that "no person should be denied the ability to obtain a job, succeed in school or the workplace, secure housing, or otherwise exercise their rights based on a hair texture or hair style."