John Oliver has a pretty good video about it. I never knew it existed either until I saw that. Actually learned a lot about the difference in hair care requirements for people of different races, really enlightening.

I don't understand why people can't just be kind. Yes, people are DIFFERENT. Live with it. Smile, be kind, be respectful, let people do their thing peacefully. And it doesn't cost you a penny to not be a jerk.

Discriminatory standards come from people who are unfamiliar with ethnic hair assuming that such styles are unprofessional. It’s never direct “fuck you” discrimination, a lot of it is subtle and subconscious.

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As someone with a passion for combing, braiding, and styling my ass hair, I too appreciate this new ordinance.

Thanks for sharing the article. Yes it happens to black folks pretty often here in America. My relatives have had to shave their head (they had nice/neat dreads) and I’ve had friends who have been told their hair is too “unprofessional” for the job or it’s “unkempt” even though it’s just their natural hair (braids, curls, etc.) I hate that this law had to be made, but on the flip side I’m glad they won’t have to deal with that blatant racism.

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I think it's more nuanced than this. Your statement on how rampant this is - well I can't speak to the southern Republican led states with a history of racism (excuse me confederate states rights) but in the states I lived in this wasnt a huge issue. The only areas that did have this stuff locked up did so for good reasons - they were high priced items that often got stolen. To be clear I lived in Milwaukee near the Walmart on Capital. This was an area with high crimes rates. People regularly got shot in a neighborhood a few blocks south. Their were almost always cops dealing with crime in the area. Also FYI - MKE is one of that most segregated cities in the US to this day. I point this out as there are white, Hispanic and Black neighborhoods in MKE. The business owners often reflected the residence due to how segregated MKE is. If you're been discriminated against by someone in your neighborhood chances are they had the same skin color.

Now the argument on why the products are more expensive - that may be valid. However I don't think it's discrimination for a store in a high crime area to lock up products that are high cost and get stolen often.

Hairstyle variety is Peak Level in the SF Bay Area, come visit!

I’m American and I’ve literally never heard of hair discrimination before, so I don’t know if “rampant” is the right word.

“Rampant” is pretty overstated.

People will find anything to discriminate against a certain group of people they hate. For black americans, their hair was targeted and still is today. All reasons are utter bullshit. I’ve heard school faculty call it “distracting” and “unprofessional” back in my day and of course, those faculty were old white people.

It's always been the case. Its about thinking it's "unprofessional". I work at a highschool and an administrator made a black girl shave her dreadlocks off like a decade ago.

Hair discrimination is really really common.

Back in high school, administrators would regularly harass some of the African American students because their hair was 'unkept' or 'dirty'. Going as far as to suspend some for refusing to cut it or straighten their dreads.

The sign said long haired freaky people need not apply.

Ooo I was gonna suggest that. Must have complained to her governor.

Believe it or not, that haircut is worn by many professional white ladies and has never been used to deny someone employment, deny someone a promotion or raise, or deny someone a client facing position. The "Karen" haircut has never been singled out by employers and school officials and specifically disallowed by dress codes.

It's almost like that haircut is not used to systematically discriminate against anyone.

Because it's learning day today: mocking does NOT equal systematic discrimination.

You're welcome!