By Jenny Whidden
We don't want any more of those "nappy headed hos" (click here)
When state Sen. Mike Simmons (click here) learned about Gus “Jett” Hawkins, a 4-year-old Chicago boy who was told to take out his braids due to his West Side school’s dress code, it sparked memories of his own childhood.
The rookie lawmaker, a North Side Democrat who now wears his hair in free form locs, said he has encountered societal challenges with styling his hair throughout his life.
Simmons is sponsoring legislation that would prohibit schools from issuing policies on hairstyles including those traditionally associated with race and ethnicity such as braids, dreadlocks and cornrows.
The bill passed the Senate on May 12 and is in the hands of the House, which would have to pass it before the General Assembly’s scheduled May 31 adjournment.
Simmons said for him, the legislation represents “the tip of the iceberg” of the challenges that young Black people face both in school and in interactions with law enforcement.
“We’re living through the Black Lives Matter movement right now, and I think as a country we’re rising up and trying to turn the page on a lot of injustices that fall on Black people,” he said. “This is ground zero for that.”...
