{"id":15564,"date":"2019-02-18T07:15:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T17:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15564"},"modified":"2019-02-18T07:15:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T17:15:35","slug":"nyt-hair-policing-soon-to-be-treated-as-racial-discrimination-by-nyc-commission-of-human-rights-compare-with-jhs-hs-hair-police-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15564","title":{"rendered":"NYT: Hair policing soon to be treated as “racial discrimination” by NYC Commission of Human Rights. Compare with JHS & HS Hair Police in Japan."},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Blog. Related to our recent posts by Senaiho<\/a> about the unchecked bullying power<\/a> of the self-appointed “Hair Police” in Japan’s secondary education system<\/a>, here’s how a progressive system deals with it, particularly when it comes to hairstyles in the professional world. New York City’s Human Rights Commission will soon be enforcing guidelines dealing with racial discrimination when it comes to how people choose to wear their hair professionally. And these penalties have real teeth: The NYC HRC can levy fines on companies of up to a quarter-mil, plus damages in court afterwards!<\/p>\n

This is, of course, absolutely unimaginable in Japan, where their state-sponsored “Bureau of Human Rights” (Jinken Yougobu<\/em><\/a>) is but a Potemkin system<\/a> (with no ability to levy penalties<\/a>, and arbitrary guidelines for launching investigations<\/a>) that only exists to deflect criticism from overseas<\/a> that Japan isn’t respecting treaty obligations towards human rights<\/a>. Consequently people of diversity are forced into an absolutist narrative where “looking Japanese” is not only quantifiable as a standard (e.g., hair must be straight and black), but also enforceable under normalized racial profiling by the Japanese police (which has detained people for “looking foreign” while Japanese<\/a>). This is why “Embedded Racism<\/a>” remains so unchecked in Japan.<\/p>\n

Read on for how NYC HRC is doing it, and consider this as a template. Debito Arudou, Ph.D.<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

New York City to Ban Discrimination Based on Hair<\/strong>
\nNew guidelines out this week give legal recourse to individuals who have been harassed, punished or fired because of the style of their hair.<\/strong>
\nBy Stacey Stowe<\/strong>
\nThe New York Times, Feb. 18, 2019<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/18\/style\/hair-discrimination-new-york-city.html<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO CAPTION: The New York City’s human rights commission specifically asserts the right of people to have \u201cnatural hair, treated or untreated hairstyles such as locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, fades, Afros, and\/or the right to keep hair in an uncut or untrimmed state.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Under new guidelines to be released this week by the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the targeting of people based on their hair or hairstyle, at work, school or in public spaces, will now be considered racial discrimination.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The change in law applies to anyone in New York City but is aimed at remedying the disparate treatment of black people; the guidelines specifically mention the right of New Yorkers to maintain their \u201cnatural hair, treated or untreated hairstyles such as locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, fades, Afros, and\/or the right to keep hair in an uncut or untrimmed state.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In practice, the guidelines give legal recourse to individuals who have been harassed, threatened, punished, demoted or fired because of the texture or style of their hair. The city commission can levy penalties up to $250,000 on defendants that are found in violation of the guidelines and there is no cap on damages. The commission can also force internal policy changes and rehirings at offending institutions.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The move was prompted in part by investigations after complaints from workers at two Bronx businesses \u2014 a medical facility in Morris Park and a nonprofit in Morrisania \u2014 as well as workers at an Upper East Side hair salon and a restaurant in the Howard Beach section of Queens. (The new guidelines do not interfere with health and safety reasons for wearing hair up or in a net, as long as the rules apply to everyone.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The guidelines, obtained by The New York Times before their public release, are believed to be the first of their kind in the country. They are based on the argument that hair is inherent to one\u2019s race (and can be closely associated with \u201cracial, ethnic, or cultural identities\u201d) and is therefore protected under the city\u2019s human rights laws, which outlaw discrimination on the basis of race, gender, national origin, religion and other protected classes.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To date, there is no legal precedent in federal court for the protection of hair. Indeed, last spring the United States Supreme Court refused an NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund request to review a case in which a black woman, Chastity Jones, had her job offer rescinded in 2010 at an Alabama insurance company after she refused to cut off her dreadlocks.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But New York City\u2019s human rights commission is one of the most progressive in the nation; it recognizes many more areas of discrimination than federal law, including in employment, housing, pregnancy and marital status. Its legal enforcement bureau can conduct investigations, and has the ability to subpoena witnesses and prosecute violations.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing keeping us from calling out these policies prohibiting natural hair or hairstyles most closely associated with black people,\u201d said Carmelyn P. Malalis, the commissioner and chairwoman of the New York City Commission on Human Rights.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are based on racist standards of appearance,\u201d Ms. Malalis continued, saying that they perpetuate \u201cracist stereotypes that say black hairstyles are unprofessional or improper.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In New York, it isn\u2019t difficult to find black women and men who can speak about how their hair has affected their lives in both subtle and substantial ways, ranging from veiled comments from co-workers to ultimatums from bosses to look \u201cmore professional\u201d or find another job.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For Avery, 39, who works in Manhattan in court administration and declined to provide her last name for fear of reprisal at work, the answer to how often she fields remarks on her hair in a professional setting is \u201cevery day.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Avery said her supervisor, who is white, encourages her to relax her hair, which she was wearing in shoulder-length chestnut-colored braids. \u201cShe\u2019s like, \u2018You should do your hair,\u2019 when it is already styled, or she says, \u2018straight is better,\u2019\u201d Avery said. She added that the only hair color her supervisor approves of is black.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Georbina DaRosa, who is interning to be a social worker, had her hair in box braids as she ate lunch with a colleague at Shake Shack on East 86th Street on a recent weekend afternoon. Ms. DaRosa said her hair sometimes elicited \u201cmicroaggressions\u201d from her superiors at work.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLike, people say, \u2018I wouldn\u2019t be able to recognize you because you keep changing your hairstyle,\u2019 that\u2019s typical,\u201d said Ms. DaRosa, 24.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Her lunch partner, Pahola Capellan, who is also black and whose ringlets were bobbed just above her shoulders, said, of her own experience: \u201cIt\u2019s very different. There\u2019s no discrimination because my hair is more acceptable.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A 21-year-old black woman who gave her name only as Enie said she quit her job as a cashier at a Manhattan Wendy\u2019s six months ago when a manager asked her to cut off her 14-inch hair extensions. \u201cI quit because you can\u2019t tell me my hair is too long, but the other females who are other races don\u2019t have to cut their hair,\u201d said Enie, who now works at a hospital.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There has long been a professional toll for those with certain hairstyles. Almost 18 percent of United States soldiers in active duty are black, but it is only in recent years that the military has dropped its prohibitions on hairstyles associated with black culture. The Marines approved braid, twist and \u201clock\u201d (usually spelled loc) hairstyles in 2015, with some caveats, and the Army lifted its ban on dreadlocks in 2017.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And certain black hairstyles are freighted with history. Wearing an Afro in the 1960s, for instance, was often seen as a political statement instead of a purely aesthetic choice, said Noliwe Rooks, an author and professor at Cornell University whose work explores race and gender. Dr. Rooks said that today, black men who shave designs into their hair as a stylistic choice may be perceived as telegraphing gang membership.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople read our bodies in ways we don\u2019t always intend,\u201d Dr. Rooks said. \u201cAs Zora Neale Hurston said, there is the \u2018will to adorn,\u2019 but there is often a backlash against it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chaumtoli Huq, an associate professor of labor and employment law at City University of New York School of Law, said that attitudes will change as black politicians, like Stacey Abrams, who ran for governor of Georgia, and Ayanna Pressley, who represents Massachusetts in Congress, rise in prominence.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAs more high-profile black women like Abrams and Pressley opt for natural hairstyles, twists, braids, we may see a positive cultural shift that would impact how courts view these guidelines that seek to prevent discrimination based on hair,\u201d Ms. Huq said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hair discrimination affects people of all ages. In the past several years, there have been a number of cases of black students sent home or punished for their hairstyles. In New Jersey, the state civil rights division and its interscholastic athletic association started separate investigations in December when Andrew Johnson, a black high school student, was told to cut off his dreadlocks or forfeit a wrestling match.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Last August, an 11-year-old student in Terrytown, La., was sent home from school for wearing braids, as was a 6-year-old boy in Florida who wore dreadlocks. In 2017, Mya and Deana Cook, twin sisters in Massachusetts, were forced to serve detentions because officials said their braids violated their school\u2019s grooming policy.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Similar instances in New York City could fall under the human rights commission\u2019s expansive mandate, as do instances of retailers that sell and display racist iconography.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In December, the commission issued a cease-and-desist order to Prada, the Italian luxury fashion house, after the window of its SoHo store was adorned with charms and key chains featuring blackface imagery.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The fashion company instituted training in the city\u2019s human rights law for employees, executives, and independent contractors. It also immediately pulled the line of goods from its United States stores.<\/em><\/strong>
\nENDS<\/p>\n

=============================
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NYT: Under new guidelines to be released this week by the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the targeting of people based on their hair or hairstyle, at work, school or in public spaces, will now be considered racial discrimination. The change in law applies to anyone in New York City but is aimed at remedying the disparate treatment of black people; the guidelines specifically mention the right of New Yorkers to maintain their \u201cnatural hair, treated or untreated hairstyles such as locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, fades, Afros, and\/or the right to keep hair in an uncut or untrimmed state.\u201d<\/p>\n

In practice, the guidelines give legal recourse to individuals who have been harassed, threatened, punished, demoted or fired because of the texture or style of their hair. The city commission can levy penalties up to $250,000 on defendants that are found in violation of the guidelines and there is no cap on damages. The commission can also force internal policy changes and rehirings at offending institutions… (The new guidelines do not interfere with health and safety reasons for wearing hair up or in a net, as long as the rules apply to everyone.)<\/p>\n

The guidelines, obtained by The New York Times before their public release, are believed to be the first of their kind in the country. They are based on the argument that hair is inherent to one\u2019s race (and can be closely associated with \u201cracial, ethnic, or cultural identities\u201d) and is therefore protected under the city\u2019s human rights laws, which outlaw discrimination on the basis of race, gender, national origin, religion and other protected classes.<\/p>\n

COMMENT: Related to our recent posts by Senaiho about the unchecked bullying power of the self-appointed “Hair Police” in Japan’s secondary education system, here’s how a progressive system deals with it, particularly when it comes to hairstyles in the professional world. New York City’s Human Rights Commission will soon be enforcing guidelines dealing with racial discrimination when it comes to how people choose to wear their hair professionally. And these penalties have real teeth: The NYC HRC can levy fines on companies of up to a quarter-mil, plus damages in court afterwards!<\/p>\n

This is, of course, absolutely unimaginable in Japan, where their state-sponsored “Bureau of Human Rights” (Jinken Yougobu) is but a Potemkin system (with no ability to levy penalties, and arbitrary guidelines for launching investigations) that only exists to deflect criticism from overseas that Japan isn’t respecting treaty obligations towards human rights. Consequently people of diversity are forced into an absolutist narrative where “looking Japanese” is not only quantifiable as a standard (e.g., hair must be straight and black), but also enforceable under normalized racial profiling by the Japanese police (which has detained people for “looking foreign” while Japanese). This is why “Embedded Racism” remains so unchecked in Japan. So consider the NYC HRC as a template.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,28,43,22,35,5,16,48,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-anti-discrimination-templates","category-bad-business-practices","category-cultural-issue","category-good-news","category-human-rights","category-labor-issues","category-shoe-on-the-other-foot-dept","category-tangents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15565,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15564\/revisions\/15565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}