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5 <br /> programs, housing programs, public accommodations, employment, and access to equal <br /> rights under the law; and <br /> WHEREAS, the stated purpose of the identical bills is "to institute definitions of race and <br /> national origin for Federal civil rights laws that effectuate the comprehensive scope of <br /> protection Congress intended to be afforded by such laws and Congress' objective to <br /> eliminate race and national origin discrimination in the United States"; and <br /> WHEREAS, the pending federal bills include an initial section of Congressional "findings" <br /> providing an eloquent and compelling argument for the necessity of the proposed Act, as <br /> follows: <br /> (1) Throughout United States history, society has used, in conjunction with skin color, <br /> hair texture and hairstyle to classify individuals on the basis of race. <br /> (2) Like one's skin color, one's hair has served as a basis of race and national origin <br /> discrimination. <br /> (3) Racial and national origin discrimination can and do occur because of longstanding <br /> racial and national origin biases and stereotypes associated with hair texture and <br /> style. <br /> (4) For example, routinely, people of African descent are deprived of educational and <br /> employment opportunities because they are adorned with natural or protective <br /> hairstyles in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, or worn in locks, <br /> cornrows,twists, braids, Bantu knots, or Afros. <br /> (5) Racial and national origin discrimination is reflected in school and workplace <br /> policies and practices that bar natural or protective hairstyles commonly worn by <br /> people of African descent. <br /> (6) For example, as recently as 2018, the United States Armed Forces had grooming <br /> policies that barred natural or protective hairstyles that servicewomen of African <br /> descent commonly wear and that described these hairstyles as "unkempt". <br /> (7) In 2018, the United States Armed Forces rescinded these policies and recognized <br /> that this description perpetuated derogatory racial stereotypes. <br /> (8) The United States Armed Forces also recognized that prohibitions against natural <br /> or protective hairstyles that African-American servicewomen are commonly <br /> adorned with are racially discriminatory and bear no relationship to African- <br /> American servicewomen's occupational qualifications and their ability to serve <br /> and protect the Nation. <br /> (9) As a type of racial or national origin discrimination, discrimination on the basis of <br /> natural or protective hairstyles that people of African descent are commonly <br /> adorned with violates existing Federal law,including provisions of the Civil Rights <br /> Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), section 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 <br /> U.S.C. 1981), and the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). However, some <br /> Federal courts have misinterpreted Federal civil rights law by narrowly <br /> interpreting the meaning of race or national origin, and thereby permitting, for <br /> example, employers to discriminate against people of African descent who wear <br /> natural or protective hairstyles even though the employment policies involved are <br /> not related to workers' ability to perform their jobs. <br /> (10)Applying this narrow interpretation of race or national origin has resulted in a lack <br /> of Federal civil rights protection for individuals who are discriminated against on <br />