Political Quotes

“With reference to the amendment that I got into the fiscal year 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill funding, to deny funding for this discriminatory rule. We moved forward, and later the U.S. Navy removed their discriminatory policy. They knew it was discriminatory, and finally permitted women, specifically women of color, to wear their hair in dreadlocks, large buns, braids, and ponytails. This laid the groundwork for my home State, California, to become the first State to ban discrimination against African Americans for wearing natural hairstyles at school or in the workplace with the passage of California's CROWN Act. And I am thankful and so proud of Senator Holly Mitchell for her bold leadership in getting this done. We owe it to our children to take action in Congress to break down these barriers and make sure that they know that, yes, Black is still beautiful. And, yes, Mr. Speaker, Ms. Jackson Lee's crown and braids are beautiful. Our young people see that with this bill we don't want them to be penalized. And they are being penalized if they wear their hair like I wear my hair or like Congresswoman Jackson Lee wears her hair, they are penalized. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has again expired.”