2022 -- H 7706

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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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 Williams, Cassar, Hull, Henries, Abney, Biah, Felix,
Diaz, Ajello, and Vella-Wilkinson

     Date Introduced: March 02, 2022

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Legislative findings.

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     The general assembly finds and declares that:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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permanently, in order to be deemed professional.

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

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

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serious economic and health consequences, especially for Black individuals.

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     (4) Workplace dress code and grooming policies that prohibit natural hair, including afros,

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braids, twists, and locks, have a disparate impact on Black individuals as these policies are more

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likely to deter Black applicants and burden or punish Black employees than any other group.

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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of Jewish, Latinx, or Native American descent.

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

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

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

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contexts based upon longstanding race stereotypes and biases.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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opportunity for all.

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

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

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     42-112-1. Discrimination prohibited.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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relationships.

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

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

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discrimination.

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

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

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

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with disabilities, "auxiliary aids and services," "readily achievable," "reasonable accommodation,"

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

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defined in § 42-87-1.1.

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

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

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

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

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

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wraps.

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     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

***

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

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

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

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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