Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the CROWN Act, which will move us one step closer to ending the centuries of discrimination against Black hair, discrimination that has rejected the dignity and beauty of my people. From personnel handbooks to school dress code policies, Afros, locs, and twists have been codified as proxies for our Black skin and manifestations of anti-Black racism. Many, especially Black women, grow up hearing that our natural coils and kinks are distracting, ghetto, ugly, and unprofessional. From as early as grade school, Black girls are pushed out of school for wearing their hair naturally. As we grow up, we are taught to straighten our hair if we want to get a job or simply live our lives in peace. When I first joined Congress, I proudly chose to wear my hair in Senegalese twists because I sought to intentionally create space for all of us to show up in the world as our authentic selves. Today, I navigate the world a little differently. My beautiful twists were taken from me due to the autoimmune disease known as alopecia universalis. But today, I stand in honor of those who don crowns of all types. May they continue to shine. ____________________”