LEAH BRITTON
Arizona Mirror
As the only Black woman on the House floor, Rep. Quantá Crews is no stranger to racially charged hair discrimination.
Crews, who wears her hair in twists, said she has experienced the pressures to align her appearance as close to whiteness as she can in order to be taken seriously in professional settings. And that is what motivated her to introduce an anti-discrimination bill aimed at protecting race, ethnicity and protective styles in schools and workplaces statewide.
Crews isn’t alone in facing hair discrimination. A 2023 study conducted by Dove found that Black women’s natural hair is 2.5 times more likely to be deemed unprofessional in the workplace, and a similar study from 2021 showed 66% of Black children in predominantly white schools have endured race-based hair discrimination.
Her House Bill 2396 would prohibit discrimination against employees and students based on their ancestry, skin color, ethnic identity or background. The legislation also would protect them from discrimination based on traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective styles like braids, locs and twists.
