The House Passed a Major Civil Rights Bill for Black Americans... It's Time for the Senate to do the Same

     Elections have consequences. Let's look at what Congress has accomplished in terms of racial justice alone since January 20th, 2021. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act not only dedicated national resources to combat the surge in AAPI hate; it also fundamentally changed and strengthened how law enforcement and prosecutors handle hate crimes of every kind. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act made Juneteenth, celebrating the end of slavery, the first new holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 1983. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act made lynching a federal crime for the first time in U.S. history, finally bringing a close to a 100-year fight with over 200 failed attempts to do so. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is on track to get its first black woman and first public defender ever (as well as have four women seated on it at the same time for the first time in history) within a matter of days with the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson; just today, it was announced that at least she has at least 50 votes, enough to move forward on her confirmation. Meanwhile, Congress is preparing to vote on the MORE Act, the SAFE Banking Act, and the EQUAL Act, all of which would help end the War on Drugs. President Biden has led other initiatives, from the Justice40 initiative that will give 40 percent of federal benefits to underserved communities (primarily communities of color) to a boost in government spending for small and disadvantaged businesses that will pump $100 billion into small businesses of color to the end of federal private prison contracts to an executive order boosting equity in federal hiring, one that resulted in full racial representation in the executive and judiciary branches of the federal government for the first time in U.S. history. There is much more to do, the biggest remaining social justice task being to find a compromise and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

     Meanwhile, Congress is on the cusp of passing major civil rights legislation for black Americans: the CROWN Act. The CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act would ban employers from discriminating against employees because of natural hairstyles. This may seem an odd issue to address, but for tens of millions of Americans, especially black women and girls, hair discrimination is something felt throughout one's lifetime. There are heartbreaking stories of teen boys being unable to walk for graduation because their dreadlocks go against school policy, of little girls having their heads shaved by school staff for their hair being too curly, of women being asked to wear a hat or sent home because of their natural hair. This will would outlaw this discrimination in the workplace.

     This should not be a partisan issue, and, in fact, it hasn't been. The CROWN Act or similar bills are law in 14 states and counting: California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Illinois, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Connecticut. It is also law in dozens of cities in 14 more states, and bills are pending with bipartisan support in 29 states. In states that already have implemented the law, the votes are telling. The Nevada Assembly, which has 26 Democrats and 16 Republicans, voted 33 to eight to pass the bill. The Nevada Senate, which is a tight 12 to nine in favor of Democrats, voted 20 to one. The Connecticut Senate, which is 23 to 13 in favor of Democrats, voted 33 to zero, while the Connecticut Assembly voted 139 to nine in spite of being split 97 to 54. In Delaware, the Senate is split 14 to seven and the House 26 to 15 in favor of Democrats; the CROWN Act passed unanimously in both houses. Hell, the initiative itself was launched with help from the soap company Dove.

     After GOP representatives blocked the bill on March 2nd during a suspension of the rules vote, the House passed it in an ordinary proceeding on March 18th, with the most memorable moment being when Representative Gwen Moore of my home state of Wisconsin told a white male colleague who stood to try to interrupt her to sit down. Women's History Month has already seen several positive developments for women of color, and it's time for the Senate to pass the CROWN Act.