THE HALO CODE AND OTHER LAWS FOR AFRO AND CURLY HAIR AROUND THE WORLD

It is no news that black hair has been discriminated against for years. For years, natural hair discrimination has been another form of racism, with the express purpose of preserving white supremacy and white spaces.

For years, policies prohibiting natural hairstyles such as Bantu knots, locs, afros, and braids were used to justify stripping black adults of their employment and removing black children from classrooms.

As long as there were no legal protections against hair discrimination, you, as a black person, either conformed to Eurocentric beauty and professionalism standards, or you were ready to face whatever consequences that came with wearing your natural hair.

Simply put, you could not be your authentic self because of Eurocentric standards.

Thank goodness for the recent implementation of the Halo Code and The CROWN Act. Not that these laws have fully solved the problem of hair discrimination, because let’s face it; hair discrimination is deeply entrenched in western culture.

However, these laws protecting afro hair are a step in the right direction. Properly implemented, they have the potential to change the course of the black hair movement.

What is the Halo code?

The Halo code is the UK’s first-ever black hair code for schools and workplaces, and is named for the work of the Halo Collective. Founded by 30 young black activists from The Advocacy Academy, the Halo Collective is a social justice youth organising movement committed to creating a more equal, just and fairer society.

The Halo Code is a set of clear, simple instructions for UK workplaces and schools to help end hair discrimination.

Employers and schools who sign up for the Halo Code ensure that black employees and students don’t face judgments or experience barriers because of their Afro-textured hair.

Why the Halo Code is important

Yes, hair is a protected racial characteristic under UK law, and has been for a while now. Despite this, there is a widely held erroneous belief that black hairstyles are unprofessional, unattractive, and inappropriate.

Schools routinely suspend students, and workplaces hold employers back in their careers. Through racist policies and attitudes, black people are generally made to feel inferior. This is despite the fact that the UK criminalised race-based hair discrimination since 2010, when the Equalities Act became law.

Research shows that 58 per cent of black students experience name-calling about their hair at school. Those that do not experience this are often faced with difficult and uncomfortable questions about their hair. According to black parents, 46 per cent of schools have a discriminatory school uniform policy, one that penalises Afro hair.

In the workplace, 20 per cent of black women are under societal pressure to straighten their hair for work. Because of this, employees have to choose between dress codes and their cultural, ethnic, racial and sometimes religious identities.

The Halo Code is very important and is a massive step in the right direction because the Halo Collective targets organisations and schools, not just the law, to provide a safe place of learning and earning for black people. As the discrimination often happens at work and in school, getting as many employers and schools on board to protect their workers and students will help strike at the very foundation of hair discrimination.

Success on the horizon

The first employer to adopt the Halo Code was Unilever UK, the parent company of Dove. The company signed the code in 2020 and pledged to protect workers with dreadlocks and afros against bias. HR vice-president of Unilever UK & Ireland, Richard Sharp, is of the belief that the code is imperative in the fight for equality.

Since Unilever UK, other prominent companies such as P&G, M&S, New Look, Avon, Estee Lauder, The Cooperative Bank, Bates Well, Acevo, Wilko, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Madad, National Children’s Bureau and Intent Health (amongst many others) have adopted the code.

Across the pond – The CROWN Act

In 36 states across the US, the law does not protect citizens from discrimination for how they choose to represent their heritage or wear their hair. In fact, hair discrimination is more predominant than a lot of people think.

We’ve seen black women losing employment opportunities on the basis of hair. We've also witnessed girls and boys being locked out of their classrooms for the same reason.

Statistically, black women are twice more likely to be pressured to kowtow to Eurocentric beauty standards if they want to be taken seriously at work. Black women are also 1.5 times more likely than their white counterparts to be sent away from work because of their hairstyle.

Getting to high positions is also very difficult. If you are rocking your natural hairstyle as a black woman, you are less likely to be called back for interviews than black women with straightened hair or white women.

Black people have employment offers rescinded, are passed over for promotions, and are fired because of their natural hair. As these impact the individual’s upward mobility, the financial freedom of their families are also negatively affected.

The CROWN Act campaign hopes to change that. Standing for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” the CROWN Act is a law that proscribes hair discrimination that is based on race, such as the denial of educational and employment opportunities because of protective hairstyles or hair texture.

Since the work of the CROWN Act began in 2019, it is now law in 14 US states. States such as California, New York, Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Mexico, Delaware, Nevada, and Nebraska now prosecute schools and employers who discriminate against black people because of their natural hair texture.

Beyond the states that have signed on, about 17 other states have completed the pre-filing or filing steps that could eventually lead to official legislation.

Still a long way to go

The Halo Code and The CROWN Act are steps in the right direction. We need to live in a world where your natural hair can be your celebration of self-expression.

As black people, we should never have to hide parts of ourselves or adjust our lifestyles so that we can fit in. We must rise up to be our entire selves. And now is the time to begin.