2023 -- H 5924

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LC001896

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF

1990 -- THE CROWN ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives Henries, Morales, Alzate, Tanzi, Stewart, Cruz, Hull,
Potter, Speakman, and Giraldo

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2023

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Legislative findings.

     The general assembly finds and declares that:

     (1) The history of our nation is riddled with laws and societal norms that equated

"blackness," and the associated physical traits, for example, dark skin, kinky and curly hair to a

badge of inferiority, sometimes subject to separate and unequal treatment.

     (2) This idea also permeated societal understanding of professionalism. Professionalism

was, and still is, closely linked to European features and mannerisms, which entails that those who

do not naturally fall into Eurocentric norms must alter their appearances, sometimes drastically and

permanently, in order to be deemed professional.

     (3) Despite the great strides American society and laws have made to reverse the racist

ideology that Black traits are inferior, hair remains a rampant source of racial discrimination with

serious economic and health consequences, especially for Black individuals.

     (4) Workplace dress code and grooming policies that prohibit 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.

     (5) Federal courts accept that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits

discrimination based on race, and therefore, protects against discrimination against afros. However,

the courts do not understand that afros are not the only natural presentation of Black hair. Black

hair can also be naturally presented in braids, twists, and locks.

     (6) In a society in which hair has historically been one of many determining factors of a

person’s race, and whether they were a second-class citizen, hair today remains a proxy for race.

Therefore, hair discrimination targeting hairstyles associated with race is racial discrimination.

     (7) Racial discrimination is reflected in school and workplace policies and practices that

bar natural or protective hairstyles commonly worn by people of African descent, as well as people

of Jewish, Latinx, or Native American descent.

     (8) The state should acknowledge that people who have hair texture or wear a hairstyle that

is historically and contemporarily associated with persons of African, Jewish, Latinx, or Native

American descent systematically suffer harmful discrimination in schools, workplaces, and other

contexts based upon longstanding race stereotypes and biases.

     (9) Clear, consistent, and enforceable legal standards must be provided to redress the

widespread incidences of race discrimination based upon hair texture, hair type, and protective

hairstyles in schools, workplaces, housing, places of public accommodations, and other contexts.

     (10) It is necessary to prohibit and provide remedies for the harms suffered as a result of

race discrimination on the basis of hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles.

     (11) Acting in accordance with the constitutional values of fairness, equity, and opportunity

for all, the general assembly recognizes that continuing to enforce a Eurocentric image of

professionalism through purportedly race-neutral grooming policies that disparately impact Black

individuals and exclude them from some workplaces is in direct opposition to equity and

opportunity for all.

     SECTION 2. Section 42-112-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-112 entitled "The Civil

Rights Act of 1990" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-112-1. Discrimination prohibited.

     (a) All persons within the state, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, or

country of ancestral origin, have, except as is otherwise provided or permitted by law, the same

rights to make and enforce contracts, to inherit, purchase, to lease, sell, hold, and convey real and

personal property, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and

proceedings for the security of persons and property, and are subject to like punishment, pains,

penalties, taxes, licenses, and exactions of every kind, and to no other.

     (b) For the purposes of this section, the right to “make and enforce contracts, to inherit,

purchase, to lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property” includes the making,

performance, modification and termination of contracts and rights concerning real or personal

property, and the enjoyment of all benefits, terms, and conditions of the contractual and other

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relationships.

     (c) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to affect chapter 14.1 of title 37,

chapter 5.1 of title 28 or any other remedial programs designed to address past societal

discrimination.

     (d) For the purposes of this section, the terms “sex” and “age” have the same meaning as

those terms are defined in § 28-5-6, the state fair employment practices act. The term “disability”

has the same meaning as that term is defined in § 42-87-1, and the terms, as used regarding persons

with disabilities, “auxiliary aids and services,” “readily achievable,” “reasonable accommodation,”

“reasonable modification,” and “undue hardship” shall have the same meaning as those terms are

defined in § 42-87-1.1.

     (e) For the purposes of this section, the terms "race or ethnicity" includes ancestry, color,

ethnic group identification, and ethnic background as well as the inclusion of traits historically

associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type and protective hairstyles

that are commonly or historically associated with race and including, but not limited to, such

hairstyles as braids, locks, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, Bantu knots, Afros, and head wraps.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF

1990 -- THE CROWN ACT

***

     This act would further define the terms "race and ethnicity" to include ancestry, color,

ethnic group identification, and ethnic background and inclusive of traits historically associated

with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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