After California, New York Bans Natural Hair Discrimination: Everything You Want to Know About the Assembly Bill 07797 Aka Crown Act

Some good news coming from NYC- after California became the first city to ban discrimination against black people for wearing natural hairstyles, Andrew Cuomo (D), the 56th governor of New York just signed off on legislation Friday New York will now ban race-based hair discrimination. This landmark judgement acts as an essential step towards protecting people of colour from all kinds of discrimination. The Assembly Bill 07797 was signed by the New York Democrat and it completely prohibits race discrimination based on natural hair or hairstyles. The bill is being hailed as one of the most progressive laws passed that will curb the discrimination people of colour have been facing in the past based on their hair.

What is The Assembly Bill 07797 aka CROWN Act?

The bill, which is also called the CROWN Act, states that workplace policies prohibiting natural hair including afros, braids, twists, and locks, have a disparate impact on Black individuals as these policies are more likely to deter Black applicants and burden or punish Black employees than any other group. The CROWN Act is set to come into effect immediately and the formal statement of the bill describes that the law "Prohibits race discrimination based on natural hair or hairstyles; defines "race" for certain specific purposes to include, but not be limited to, ancestry, color, ethnic group identification, and ethnic background, and to include traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles; and defines "protective hairstyles" to include, but not be limited to, such hairstyles as braids, locks, and twists.

How The Assembly Bill 07797 aka CROWN Act Is Going To Help The People Of Colour?

The New bill will protect the people with colour fight any kind of discrimination they face on the basis of their natural hair. Black people have been facing the ire of this form of social injustice worldwide, wherein the ones who have afro-textured hair become targets of people from different ethnicities and sometimes are even asked to chemically straighten their hair. Afro-textured hair has been, many times, seen as unprofessional, unattractive, and unclean, especially in the arena of jobs that deal with hospitality. This bill aims at empowering the people of colour to be comfortable in their own natural hair.

How These Women Got Hair Discrimination Outlawed in NYC:

Afro-textured hair has been seeing indifference from the 15th,16th century by people from different ethnicities who percieved afro-textured hair to be "inappropriate and distracting." People were of the notion that straight hair, isn't just more calming to look at but also appropriate for a professional setting. Crushing this mindset and labelling it as a major form of racial discrimination, this new law will empower people of colour.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2019 07:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).