The Hair Revolution: America's CROWN Act and how enslaved people historically used cornrows to communicate escape routes

New Delhi: ‘I will spread the blood upon my hairy head. The dark, long hair will be drenched fair. I will shampoo my hair and comb them, all you hear! The oil should be the blood of those two murdered curs! The comb should be made of their ribs, indeed,’ says Draupadi in the Mahabharat. As a young rig-rag sack-totting graduate student some years ago, a character I always mentioned in conversations over endless teacups was Draupadi and her ‘hair’ revolution. The discrimination against someone based on their hair and it also being a symbol of protest is not new to the world. Workplaces have globally witnessed discrimination based on this. Meanwhile, the US passed an act in 2019 called the ‘CROWN Act’ which prohibits anyone from discriminating against someone based on the texture of their hair. What is CROWN Act? According to a report in the National Law Review, California has implemented the “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act.” Specifically, California’s CROWN Act amends California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), an act that functions to prohibit specified discriminatory employment practices, by expanding the definition of race to be “inclusive of traits historically associated with race [such as] hair texture and protective hairstyles”— ultimately banning discrimination against natural black hairstyles. As of August 2022, an additional 17 states and more than 40 municipalities have enacted their own versions of the CROWN Act to prohibit hairstyle discrimination. The Act has now also reached Tennessee which became the first state in the Mid-South to adopt CROWN legislation. Tennessee’s CROWN Act prohibits employers from adopting a policy that does not permit an employee to wear their hair in braids, locs, twists, or another manner that is symbolic of the cultural identity of the employee’s ethnic group or is a physical characteristic of the employee’s ethnic group. The law in Tennessee however, does not create a private right of action. Instead, an employee may file a complaint with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development who shall warn the employer of their violation. TikTok sensation Cici Michelle on hair revolution Cici Michelle’s videos on the history of black people wearing their hair in braids and locs has gone viral. Cici in her videos talks about cornrows historically being used by enslaved people to communicate escape routes. Cici dives into a series of hair forms and patterns. She says that cornrows first originated in sub-Saharan Africa and were first found in a cave painting in 3000 BC. The hair pattern would represent the tribe, social position, and one’s marital status. In the 16th century, slave traders shaved African men and women ripping them off their cultural identity. However, not all of them shaved their heads but started braiding them in cornrows. The cornrows soon became detailed maps to secape plantations. Black women face discrimination on grooming policies Data shows that black women are 30 per cent more likely to be sent home over grooming policies. In a working world, employers definitely need to think about policies that are inclusive. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram/a>.