House passes bill to prohibit discrimination based on hair

By FARNOUSH AMIRI
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted to outlaw discrimination that’s based on hairstyles and hair textures like Afros and cornrows. A bill that passed 235-to-189 makes it explicit that such discrimination is a violation of federal civil rights law. It would specifically prohibit discrimination based on natural hair that is tightly coiled, curled, or worn in styles like cornrows, twists, braids and Afros, often worn by Black people. The bill now goes to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. More than a dozen states have already passed legislation aimed at banning race-based discrimination of hair in employment, housing, school, and in the military.