by DEBBIE NORRELL, COURIER LIFESTYLES EDITOR
Can you believe there are a lot of people who don’t watch the news because they say it’s so depressing? I am starting to agree with them but I feel that I have to watch the local news and national news daily so I know what the heck is going on. Some of these stories sound like fiction.
Let’s unpack a story out of California. Reportedly a law had to be passed in order for Black people to be able to wear their hair as it naturally grows out of their scalp. Are you kidding me? Just read that out loud. Better yet stand and look in the mirror and say it. Now can you believe the words that are coming out of your mouth? “A law so that you can wear your hair without a relaxer or straightening it with a flat iron or a hot comb.” According to a story published in USA Today on April 29, California legislators moved forward a bill that would protect students and employees from discrimination based on natural hairstyles including afros, braids and twists. Passed by the Senate, the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) seeks to add hair textures and styles associated with race to state anti-discrimination laws. The House will consider the measure next.
How do you like the name of the Act? The CROWN Act, as in your hair is your crown and glory (my mother used to say that all the time) or it made me think of Royal Crown hair grease. I didn’t really want to say grease but I wanted you to immediately know what I was talking about.
This is crazy that a ruling has to be passed so someone can comfortably wear their hair in its natural state. I actually wonder, do White people ever look at these rules, laws or whatever you want to call them and say this is crazy? WE know this ruling is directed at people of color. Back in February of this year USA Today also reported that New York passed a very similar ruling. The law banned bias in the workplace, in schools and in public places ranging from restaurants to nightclubs to museums. The story went on to say that the legal protections apply to any group whose hairstyles are associated with their ethnic identity; for those of African descent, hair texture and styles have often been singled out and are a target for abuse. Think about the young man that could not compete in the wrestling match until his dreadlocks were chopped, allowing him to compete. Watching that made me cringe.
I wanted to talk about another story, the one where the children whose parents have not paid for their school lunches are getting cold jelly sandwiches. Why not work this out with the parents instead of putting the kids on “front street” by giving them food that singles them out? If you don’t watch the news, you don’t know that this is the world we live in.
(Email Debbie at debbienorrell@aol.com.)
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