Page 3 - aruba-today-20220319

A3
U.S. NEWS Saturday 19 March 2022
House passes bill to prohibit discrimination based on hair

By FARNOUSH AMIRI incidents of discrimination
Associated Press made national headlines.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Black One involved Mya and
people who wear hairstyles Deanna Cook of Malden,
like Afros, cornrows or tight- Massachusetts.
ly coiled twists should not In 2017, the twin sisters were
face bias in society, school told by their high school
and the workplace, the U.S. staff to remove their box
House said Friday in voting braids. They refused, saying
to make it explicit that such the policy was discriminato-
discrimination is a violation ry and unevenly enforced.
of federal civil rights law. School administrators told
"There are folks in this soci- them that the ban on hair
ety who think because your extensions had been de-
hair is kinky, it is braided, it is signed to "foster a culture
in knots or it is not straight- that emphasizes education
ened blonde and light rather than style, fashion or
brown, that you somehow materialism."
are not worthy of access," For refusing to comply,
Democratic Rep. Bonnie Deanna, a runner who had
Watson Coleman, the lead qualified for the state finals,
sponsor of the bill, said dur- was kicked off the school
ing debate on the House Deanna Cook, left, poses for a photograph with her mother Colleen at their home in Malden, track team. Mya was re-
floor. "Well, that's discrimi- Mass., Tuesday, March 15, 2022. moved from the softball
nation." Associated Press team and told she couldn't
The House voted 235-to-189 attend the prom.
to prohibit discrimination Republican Rep. Jim Jor- leagues "quite dishearten- other hairstyles and tex- "It's such a shock that it
on the basis of hair texture dan. "Fourteen months of ing." tures of styles that often doesn't matter who you
and hairstyles. The bill now chaos and we're doing a "These members, who are draw prejudice against are, how old you are, what
goes to the Senate, where bill on hair." mostly male and white, Black people. you are — when people
its fate is uncertain. Presi- But House Democrats not- who have never experi- Supporters pointed to a have hatred towards a
dent Joe Biden has already ed that, in several instanc- enced this kind of discrimi- 2019 study by Dove that certain group, they don't
said he would sign the bill, es, judges have dismissed nation, who don't have the showed that one in five care. They will treat you in
known as the Crown Act, civil rights cases on the ability to actually speak to Black women working in of- that type of way," Deanna
into law.All but 14 Repub- basis that the law does not it ... really should leave it up fice or sales settings have Cook told The Associated
licans voted against the directly cover discrimina- to the policymakers who said they had to alter their Press in an interview. "That's
measure, calling it un- tion on the basis of hair. The have done the work and natural hair. The study also why we need the Crown
necessary and a distrac- House bill makes clear that who have experienced this found Black students are Act because kids are being
tion. They said protections hair is in fact included. level of discrimination," the far more likely to be sus- hurt from this so badly."
against hair discrimination Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minne- progressive lawmaker said pended for dress code or The Massachusetts attor-
already exist in several fed- sota, who is the first Soma- in an interview Friday. hair violations. ney general eventually
eral laws. li-American lawmaker in In addition to Afros, corn- Coleman, a New Jersey stepped in and ordered
"This is what the Democrats Congress, called the op- rows and twists, the bill Democrat, began to work school officials to abandon
are focused on," said Ohio position from her GOP col- mentions protections for on the proposal after two the rule, which they did.q

Tennessee guard members safe despite Russian reports

By ALI SWENSON and tweets claiming the The National Guard Bureau
Three current and former three Americans, whom it said in a statement on Thurs-
members of the Tennessee identified by name and as day that it believed Russian
National Guard are safe "mercenaries," had been media targeted the indi-
and accounted for, de- "eliminated." It cited a pro- viduals because they ap-
spite a Russian newspaper's Russian militia in Ukraine's peared in articles associat-
false report that the men Donetsk region, which said ed with a 2018 deployment
were killed while fighting in it had identified the de- to Ukraine, which included
Ukraine. ceased using a Tennessee members of the Tennessee
All three men named in a flag and other personal be- National Guard's 278th Ar-
Russian news report, two of longings left in a backpack mored Cavalry Regiment.
whom are still serving in the near the remains. That mission included the
Tennessee National Guard, In response to the false development of instructors,
are alive and well — and story, Tennessee National firing ranges, training areas,
no U.S. military personnel Guard spokesman Lt. Col. equipment and instrumen-
are currently on orders in Marlin Malone said Friday tation requirements, and a Tennessee National Guard troops board a plane in Smyrna,
Ukraine, National Guard that the military had con- realistic operational train- Tenn., to go to Washington, Thursday, June 4, 2020.
Bureau spokesman Wayne firmed the named individu- ing environment, accord- Associated Press
Hall said in a phone inter- als' whereabouts and "they ing to the statement.
view Friday. are not in Ukraine." "All members of the Ten- ment said. Pravda's false ar- sian media in recent weeks
The false claim began cir- Malone said the Tennessee nessee National Guard re- ticle, which was still live on as part of a disinformation
culating Thursday after National Guard is "monitor- turned safely to their home its website Friday, is one of campaign to bolster do-
the Russian newspaper ing the situation and will aid state in 2019 after a suc- many distorted claims that mestic support for Russia's
Pravda published a story the members as needed." cessful mission," the state- have emerged from Rus- invasion of Ukraine.q