19 October 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Wichita is one of three Kansas cities to pass the CROWN Act, preventing race-based hair discrimination in the workplace and schools. The City Council approved the Act as an addition to its non-discrimination ordinance.
The adoption comes two months after the City of Lawrence approved the CROWN Act. Atchison approved in its City Commissioner meeting on Tuesday.
Kansas Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau says she has introduced the CROWN Act to the state legislature multiple times. However, it has not passed due to conflicts with current discrimination laws. Kansas advocacy groups say passing the CRWON Act at local levels helps increase the likelihood of it becoming state law.
“Twenty-four states have now passed legislation outlawing discrimination pertaining to hair color and hairstyles,” explains James Barfield, President of Kansas Advocates for Racial Justice and Equality.
He says he is happy to see it becoming part of the city ordinance. “It’s a long time coming, but I’m glad we finally got it passed. It’s an important first step.”
A step made possible by Shirley’s Kitchen Cabinet, a non-profit that helped the CROWN Act pass in Lawrence and Wichita. The organization works with the state legislature in Kansas and Missouri on ways to introduce the CROWN Act to local governments. The first local municipality to adopt the CROWN Act because of work done by Shirley’s Kitchen Cabinet was in Kansas City, Missouri.
Shirley’s Kitchen Cabinet founder Michele Watley says they work with Professor Wendy Greene, the racial justice advocate who helps draft the language of the CROWN Act at the federal and state level.
“We’ve been in discussions with other cities in Kansas. Hutchinson, Wyandotte County, and others. When the work is being done at the local level, it can also set a blueprint for other cities and municipalities that are looking to do the same work,” said Watley.
The organization is providing a pathway for the CROWN Act to become state law.
“If a measure happens in the local areas, it’s easier for it to pass through the Kansas legislature,” explains Senator Faust-Goudeau.
She says because of past issues with the CROWN Act interfering with the state’s current discrimination laws, they have reworded the legislation and plan to introduce it again in January when the legislative session begins.
KSN reached out to local Republican Representatives to see if there is a bipartisan push for the CROWN Act at the state level but did not hear back from those Senators on Wednesday.