New bill would ban hair discrimination at work or at school

BOSTON — Lawmakers on Tuesday heard testimony on a bill that would ban discrimination against anyone who wears their hair naturally at work or at school.

The testimony comes more than two years after a Massachusetts charter school came under fire for what some students and parents considered a discriminatory policy of banning hair braid extensions. The school later removed that rule.

MORE: After backlash, Malden school removes ban on hair braid extensions

A state representative drafted the bill after two young girls were told to take out their braids or be kicked out of school.

Two years ago, Colleen Cook’s adopted twin girls were punished for the box braids they were so proud of.

“I was doing their hair for many, many years and so when we went to the beauty salon, it was more than a beauty salon,” said Cook, of Malden. “It is a connection to the community that they really felt, and it was an identity that I couldn’t give them.”

Mya and Deanna Cook were given multiple detentions and banned from activities at the Mystic Valley Charter School under the school's hair policy.

MORE: Parents say school’s ‘hair policy’ is racist

“It really took me back to my own personal journey, my childhood experience and that tension between trying to fit in and also trying to be,” said Boston City Council President Kim Janey.

Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards said: “This makes no sense. The pain that they must be in, as the continued stigma that the school is going to push on girls who have natural hair.”

The attorney general deemed Mystic Valley’s ban on hair extensions and hair that is more than 2 inches in thickness and height unlawful in 2017.

MORE: AG’s office says Malden charter school hair policy singles out students of color

But Malden State Rep. Steven Ultrino is going one step further.

With the help of the Cooks, Edwards and Janey, he’s filing a bill banning natural hair discrimination in school and workplaces across the state.

“If we don’t, who will? What we found is folks fought against this policy for years and it didn’t gain any traction,” said Aaron Cook of Malden. “We managed to get some traction so now we need to use that to pursue this.”

This debate is not only happening at the Massachusetts State House. This is a nationwide conversation, especially after several widely-publicized cases involving students.

MORE: Malden charter school board suspends hair policy for rest of school year

Texas teenager Deandre Arnold says he was suspended and told he can’t walk in his high school graduation ceremony unless he cuts his dreadlocks to meet his school district’s dress code.

And who can forget this video of New Jersey wrestler Andrew Johnson forced to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit a match.

“We still have too many schools and too many workplaces that discriminate against natural hair, that insist that how we wear our hair, and how our hair grows naturally out of our head, is somehow problematic, or not professional,” Janey said.

The bill is expected to receive bipartisan support.

MORE: Families rally to show support for charter school’s ‘distracting hair’ policy

© 2020 Cox Media Group