Republican lawmakers in West Virginia have killed a bill that would have banned discrimination against Black hairstyles, known as the CROWN Act, in a blow for Black hair advocates in the state.
On Feb. 28, lawmakers decided on the swath of bills to be considered for the remainder of the legislative session. The CROWN Act wasn’t one of them.
Sen. Eric Tarr, a Republican, pulled the bill on Feb. 23 and sent it to the Senate Finance Committee, which he chairs. There, he let the bill stall, holding that hair discrimination lawsuits would cost the state too much money, according to the Mountain State Spotlight and a spokesperson for the Legislature.
“It was definitely a slap in the face. I was extremely disappointed because I felt that this year was the year that it would see its way through” the Legislature, said Veronica Bunch, 44, who has advocated for the CROWN Act in West Virginia in recent years. “The leadership we have, and the state itself, I just feel like we’re so regressed in our opinions and our views. In regards to African Americans, we tend to get pushed aside.”
The state’s most recent version of the bill, SB 496, would have barred discrimination based on “hair textures and protective styles historically associated with a particular race.” Democratic Sen. Mike Caputo introduced it.
Advocates have pushed lawmakers to pass such a bill for years, especially after families began to speak out publicly about hair discrimination. In 2019, a Beckley, West Virginia, high school basketball coach reportedly benched a Black teen over the length of his dreadlocks. The teen’s mother, Tarsha Bolt, has since spoken out about the situation while advocating for the CROWN Act.
Two years ago, Bunch said, a cheerleading coach demanded her daughter change her hair, which she wore in dreadlocks at the time. Bunch attempted to work with the coach to remedy the situation, but the school held there was no discrimination law that prohibited the coach’s…
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