LAWRENCE, Kan. — Ordinance 10003, which addresses discrimination based on hair styles, is coming to a vote in Lawrence, Kansas, on Aug. 22.
The ordinance is an alignment with The CROWN Act, and if it’s passed, Lawrence would be the first city in Kansas to do so.
Amber Sellers, a city commissioner for Lawrence, recalls the trauma she faced as a child after being picked on for her natural hair.
“She pointed at my hair, and she said, 'Mommy, her hair looks like Joy's hair, and apparently Joy was their dog,'" Sellers said. “To be six and remember that and to still carry that that plays a lot on the mind of a young, Black girl.”
Byron Myrick also recalls a time when he felt discriminated against in the restaurant industry, feeling like he was qualified for the job.
“He told me all the skills he was excited about, you know my skills, and then the hair thing came," Myrick said. "We would like for you too cut your lochs in order to seal this position."
Sellers, Myrick and others believe it is important for Lawrence to be the first city in Kansas to pass the CROWN Act.
“We are creating a space of joy of opportunity, a safe mental space,” Sellers said.
Donnavan Dillon, a community organizer with Loud Light, says the reality is many African Americans use tools, products, time and money to fit in.
“Where you just can't move through the world without all of this backlash and attacks just for existing how you are,” Dillon said.
Looking at the history and culture behind Black hair, these folks and others hope people will finally look beyond the surface.
“Our hair is apart of us," Colter said.
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