CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A group of North Carolina lawmakers is working to stop hair discrimination with a new bill that would make it illegal.
The CROWN Act was first introduced in the North Carolina House on Feb. 16 and it now heads to the state Senate.
This comes as research shows more than 20% of Black women ages 25 to 34 have been sent home because of their hair. That's compared to white women with either curly or straight hairstyles and Black women with straightened hair.
"I've had people actually cut their locs [dreadlocks] off because they feel it's a barrier," April Atkinson, a prominent Charlotte stylist, said.
The bill lists, but is not limited to, bantu knots, braids, locs and other protective styles. It adds hair texture will be included in the protections as well.
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