Senate Committee Advances ‘Crown Act’ to Protect Natural Hairstyles and Texture

With its successful passage by the 34th Legislature’s Committee on Education and Workforce Development during an afternoon session in St. Thomas, Bill No. 0147 would afford protection under the VI Code for wearers of natural hairstyles, which include but are not limited to, braids, locks, twists, cornrows, Bantu knots, Afros, and other styles in which the hair is tightly coiled, or tightly curled.

If the bill passes, the Virgin Islands would join a nationwide initiative known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, also known as the Crown Act, which seeks to prevent educational institutions and employers from denying opportunities to individuals on the basis of their natural hair.

While speaking to the bill on the Senate floor, Senator Alma Francis Heyliger, the original sponsor of the bill, cited personal experience along with the accounts of many constituents in the Territory as the impetus for crafting the legislation.

“Not only was it a journey for me to deal with my natural hair,” said Sen. Francis Heyliger. “There were so many in my community and around the world and in the United States that were being discriminated against because of something we were born with. It was being utilized as a way to separate. It was being utilized as a way to hinder people from advancing in their careers and even limit people when it comes to education.”

Shomari Moorehead, joined by his wife Kimberly, testified in support of the bill via video. Moorehead, a father of four boys, recounted an instance where a local unidentified parochial school refused to let the children wear twists in school. The school compelled Moorhead to cut the hair or else they would face expulsion.

“He loves his hair. His hair was not distracting. It did not present a safety hazard to himself or anyone around him. It was not so tall that it blocked the view of children behind him. It was not filthy. There were no accessories, artificial coloring, or other unnatural changes,” Moorehead said in his testimony. “We were hard-pressed to believe that in a predominantly black community, there were policies in place that rejected our natural God-given hair.”

Several advocates for the Virgin Islands Crown Act shared similar accounts where individuals were forced to alter their natural hairstyles in order to conform to policies set by workplaces and schools.

“It’s really unfortunate that we are having this conversation today,” said the committee’s chairwoman, Senator Genevieve Whitaker, who also sponsored the bill. “But we know we have to do this.”

During a round of questioning, Senator Janelle K. Sarauw expressed concern over whether the government could enforce the law within the scope of private and parochial institutions and how it would impact jobs where hair length poses safety risks.

CROWN Coalition Founder and CEO Adjoa B. AsaMoah remained uncertain about the applicability of the law in private settings, but assured Sen. Sarauw that the bill would not trump standards set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Senator Carla J. Joseph, one of the two committee members who voted against the bill, questioned how pervasive the issue is here in the Territory. In recalling her own experiences wearing natural hair, Sen. Joseph stated that she had worn braids and extensions since elementary school.

“I have never encountered any discrimination, this is just my testimony, any type of discrimination from my instructors, principals,” said Sen. Joseph. “I wasn’t even called to the principal’s office when my mother first put in extensions in my hair.”

The bill’s sponsors both said that their office had received complaints from community members who felt they were passed by for jobs, promotions and subject to discriminatory policies by educational institutions.

“I recognized that this was a problem here in our community after having several conversations with individuals that live here,” said Sen. Francis Heyliger. “I’m going to admit, at the beginning, I said: ‘The majority of us are black. Why would that be an issue?’ But when I started to listen and when one woman told me that she was passed up for a promotion here in this very government because she had locks in her hair, that’s a problem. When you have a child that’s being told ‘we don’t want you to play in our little group at school’ because we don’t like your hair, that is a problem.”

Senator Milton Potter stated his belief that the era of conforming to Euro-centric grooming standards seemed to be “coming to an end” and encouraged the Governor to restore the long-defunct Civil Rights Commission, which would weigh-in heavily on measures such as the Crown Act.

Senate President Donna Frett Gregory, the only other dissenting vote on the bill, refused to offer her support for or against the measure due to the absence of potentially affected agencies such as the Department of Education (DOE) and the Division of Personnel.

“This legislation needs to be properly vetted with the appropriate officials in this Territory,” said Sen. Frett-Gregory.

Sen. Francis Heyliger said she agreed with Sen. Frett-Gregory with regards to receiving testimony to such agencies, but they did not accept invitations to attend the meeting or offer a written opinion on the matter.

The Committee had invited the Department of Education and Board of Education to attend the meeting in order to update the legislature on the school reopening efforts later that day. Representatives from neither the DOE nor the BOE attended, which compelled the Committee to subpoena the parties.

Sen. Joseph motioned to hold the bill in committee for further review with Sen. Frett-Gregory seconding, but the motion failed to garner any further support from the legislative body.

After the committee passed an amendment to the bill by Sen. Francis Heyliger, offered by Sen. Sarauw, the proposed Virgin Islands Crown Act passed by a 4 to 2 vote and will now move on to the Senate Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration.