Political Quotes

“We are going to talk about hair, but this bill is about discrimination. This bill is about equality. This bill is about individual integrity. That is what this bill is about. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. I thank my friend from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) for putting it forward. This bill, as I just said, is not about hair. It is about hair, of course, but it is about the reaction, the inequality, the discrimination, the ``you are not welcome here if your hair texture is different,'' and you have to or want to fix it in a certain way. It is about the ability of every person in our country to have access to education, to economic advancements, and to opportunities to get ahead. This is an issue of civil rights. The legislation before us would prohibit discrimination based on a person's hair texture or hairstyle if that style or texture is commonly associated with a particular race or national origin. My hair is different than Barbara Lee's, who is seated next to me. Neither one of us had anything to do with that. I had no way to have the texture of my hair any way other than what my genetic makeup was, nor did Barbara Lee. Why, therefore, should there be any thought that anybody would be able to discriminate on that basis? Too often, styles such as locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros are wrongly perceived as unkempt or unprofessional.…”