discrimination
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Puerto Rico is looking to better support citizens with natural hair. Officials are looking to pass a bill to end discrimination against popular Black hairstyles.
As spotted on Blavity the Island of Enchantment is apparently facing some serious issues regarding hair texture. In January Sen. Ana Irma Rivera Lassén and Sen. Rafael Bernabe proposed a bill that would protect Puerto Ricans who wear natural hairstyles from discrimination relating to employment, housing and education. The filing includes “tight coils or curls, locs, bonded braids, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and afros” as applicable styles protected under the bill.
On Jan. 23 the two officials heard testimony from several citizens who claimed they suffered economically due to their hair. “I’m 23 years old, and I’m tired of this problem,” said Julia Llanos Bultrón, an educator who has cornrows. “I’m very disappointed with a system that pushes us to change the hair with which we’re born.” Mother Lorraine León Ramírez tells NBC News that her youngest son, who wears an afro, that he was banned from two schools until he cut his hair. “It was one of the worst experiences we’ve had as a family,” she added.
While the bill has received support from students, activists and more others question why hair needs explicit protection. The 2020 Census reports that over three million people live in Puerto Rico many of them who are of African descent.
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A white student who attended Howard University School of Law has sued the university for discrimination after being expelled. However, reports are questioning the student’s motives as the details from the suit are being released.
Michael Newman attended Howard University School of Law for nearly two years until he was expelled in September of last year and he is seeking $2 million in damages alleging “pain, suffering, emotional anguish and damage to his reputation.”
Fox6 reports that Newman enrolled in the fall of 2020–amid the coronavirus pandemic when classes were virtual and that as he and other students communicated via online forums and GroupMe chats, Newman frequently posted inflammatory photos and ideas.
The report says that after a symposium featuring an African American speaker ahead of the 2020 election, Newman posted the forum page asking if further discussion could be had on “whether: (1) Black voters didn’t question turning to government for solutions, and (2) reliably voting for the same party every election disincentivized both parties from responding to the needs of the black communities.”
Newman also said that his goal in attending the school was to “learn, not just law, but to learn the thoughts and experiences of people of color,” and referred to his time there as a social experiment.
He said that he frequently felt ostracized because fellow students referred to him by names such as “white panther” and “mayo king.” Black students at the institution also frequently complained about Newman claiming that his actions caused them “severe stress” and “distracted them from their studies.”
The report adds that Newman sent out a four-page letter trying to explain his views, but it was received as a “manifesto.”
The School of Law Dean Danielle Holley noted that a digital town hall was held with 300 participants to discuss Newman’s actions. And Holley characterized his actions as “disturbing in every sense of the word.” She accused the man of “continual harassment of member [sic] of the Howard Law community, and disturbance of the learning environment at the School of Law.”
The lawsuit was filed in federal court and Frank Tramble, Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for Howard University, said that while he could not comment “substantively” due to pending litigation, the university “is prepared to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit as the claims provide a one-sided and self-serving narrative of the events leading to the end of the student’s enrollment at the University.”
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