Gov. Mills signs Sen. Daughtry's bill to protect Mainers from discrimination based on hair texture or hairstyle
AUGUSTA — Last week, Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill from Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, to enshrine the Crown Act into state law. LD 598, “An Act To Prohibit Discrimination in Employment and School Based on Hair Texture or Hairstyle,” amends the Maine Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on hair texture or hairstyle.
“Although the Maine Human Rights Act protects against discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry or national origin, it does not protect against hair discrimination,” said Sen. Daughtry. “With Gov. Mill’s signature, I’m proud to see Maine become another state to update its anti-discrimination statutes to include characteristics or traits, such as hair textures or hairstyles, which are associated with race. Equally important, this is one way that we can address systemic racism and remove barriers that keep non-white Mainers from advancing in academic or work careers.”
The idea for this legislation came from the CROWN Coalition. (CROWN stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.) The CROWN Act was created in 2019 by Dove and the CROWN Coalition, in partnership with then-State Senator Holly J. Mitchell of California, to provide protection against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles. To accomplish this, legislation would need to extend statutory protection to hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots in the workplace and public schools. LD 598 accomplishes this goal.
Since its founding, Dove and the CROWN Coalition have collected data showing that Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair, with 80 percent of Black women being more likely to report that they have to change their hair from its natural state to fit in at an office. At school, 86 percent of Black students said that they experienced discrimination based on their natural hair by the age of 12. At majority-white schools, the micro-aggressions for non-white students can begin early and impact a child’s – then teenager’s – mental health and school performance. In fact, Black female teenagers are missing a week of school per year because of the strain and stress of hair dissatisfaction.
Just last month, Arianna DeJesus, a student at Bangor High School, openly shared her painful experiences with hair discrimination in the Bangor Daily News. DeJesus spoke about a time in the first grade when a teacher went so far as to cut her braids. In her teenage years, she recalled peers touching her hair without consent while making racist comments.
According to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), hair discrimination is rooted in systemic racism. Its purpose is to preserve white spaces. Policies that prohibit natural hairstyles like afros, braids, bantu knots, and locs have been used to justify the removal of Black children from classrooms, and Black adults from workspaces. Currently, there are no national legal protections against hair discrimination. Earlier this spring, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the CROWN Act, which would ban race-based hair discrimination at work, federal programs, and public accommodations. It has not been voted on in the U.S. Senate.
LD 598 will go into effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns sine die.
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