Palmetto Report

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- A South Carolina lawmaker plans to file a bill later this year that would ban discrimination based on wearing hair in a natural style, which could included curls, dreadlocks, twists or braids. Rep. Kambrell Garvin (D-Richland) will file the "CROWN Act" (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) to ban discrimination of facial features, hair textures, hair types, hairstyles and protective hairstyles. The bill is similar to laws that were passed earlier this year in California and New York, which prohibit race-based hair discrimination, and a number of other states have proposed similar legislation. “My definition of natural hair is hair that has not been altered, it operates in its natural state in a sense that hasn’t had any chemical sort of application,” said Jennifer Dixon-McKnight, an assistant professor at Winthrop University. Dixon-McKnight, who teaches a course called Black Women in America, was a guest on the Palmetto Report to discuss the topic.