Rogers v. American Airlines was a 1981 legal case decided by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York involving plaintiff Renee Rogers, a Black woman who brought charges against her employer, American Airlines, for both sex and race discrimination after she was dissuaded from wearing her hair in cornrows due to the airline's employee grooming policy. [1] Rogers believed that this hair policy was a violation of her Title VII rights. [2]
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. [3] [4] Title VII as it stands does not provide explicit protection for Black women’s protective or non-afro hairstyles, including cornrows. However, regardless of an individual's hair texture (curly, straight, coiled, wavy, etc.), natural or otherwise unchangeable hair has been considered by some courts to fall under Title VII protections. [5]
In 1981, American Airlines had policies in place that banned female employees from wearing braided hairstyles. This was permitted under Title VII. It has been previously ruled in court that "Black women may change their hair texture to make it straight, wear a weave, or wear a wig. However, every other hairstyle involving Black women’s natural texture (outside the afro) may be banned." [6]
Renee Rogers was working with American Airlines as an airport operations agent. She claimed that braided hair was culturally important to herself and to other Black women. She sued the airline for sexism and racism, citing Title VII in her argument. [7]
The court ruled that American Airlines' policy did not violate Rogers' Thirteenth Amendment rights. [7] The court found that there was no legal violation based on sex, because American Airlines had policies in place for both men and women. [8] Even though the policies were different, American Airlines claimed that it was because different types of styles are worn by men and women. [9] The court also ruled that the policy didn't violate the Thirteenth Amendment on the basis of race, because the policy was "race neutral." [8]
American Airlines claimed that the braids Rogers was wearing were popularized by Bo Derek’s character in the movie 10 . Rogers claimed that the braids she was wearing had historical significance to Black women. The court sided with American Airlines, rejecting the idea of Rogers' braids being culturally significant. [8] The court concluded that the American Airlines grooming policy, specifically the prohibition of braids, had a negligible effect on employment, [8] because Rogers' hairstyle isn’t an immutable characteristic, meaning that it can be easily changed. [10]
Some critics have used Rogers v. American Airlines as a case study to critique the limitations of Title VII for Black women in the workplace. [11] [12] According to the S.D.N.Y., Rogers did not experience discrimination because her protective cornrow hairstyle was considered feasibly changeable. [11] Despite the court’s stance, intersectional scholars like Michelle L. Turner and Nia A. D. Langley critiqued this and other logics used by the Rogers court. [11] [12]
The court concluded that American Airlines' grooming policy was not discriminatory because it had a neutral impact across all employee identities, including both race and sex. [7] [10] [11] Turner opposed this reasoning. She said grooming policies fundamentally reflect societal beauty standards, and she argued those standards catered to white, male individuals in the United States due to their high concentration in corporate positions of power. Thus, Turner said, these purportedly neutral policies of American Airlines' actually made white grooming practices the standard for workplace expectations, putting other racial groups and genders at an inherent disadvantage in terms of policy compliance. [11]
Additionally, Turner reasoned that braided hairstyles, such as Rogers' cornrows, are indeed culturally tied to Black women in particular. [11] She referenced the desire for some Black women to reject the notion that “white” hairstyles are the epitome of female beauty and turn instead to braids or other protective styles seen within cultures in the African diaspora. Turner also argued Black men have been granted the right to wear afro styles, while Black women have not had similar initial success with their pro-braid legal arguments. [11]
As for the court’s conclusion that Rogers could have easily changed her hair to comply with the policy, Turner’s argument did note the somatic ease of such a change. However, she then stated that Rogers changing her hair would be an assimilation to whiteness at the specific expense of culturally meaningful Black female hair practices. [11]
In Langley's intersectional analysis of the case, she noted how hair care can be a source of anxiety for Black women; Black female hair care entails a unique combination of monetary investment and time. The frequency of hair salon visits and the money spent on hair products are both more likely to be higher for Black women than their white counterparts. [12]
Langley additionally pointed to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission argument from EEOC v. Catastrophe Mgmt. Sols. that states banning hairstyles like Rogers' causes Black women to utilize chemical relaxers and other methods of hair straightening. [12] [13] This subjects such women to both emotional and financial costs. The EEOC also argued that the idea of protecting only immutable physical traits frames race as a biological state of being, not the product of a social construction. [12] [13] [14]
In 2019, California was the first state to pass the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act in the United States, which outlaws hair discrimination on the basis of both race-based hair textures and hairstyles. [15] [16] [17] Subsequently, over a dozen other states either passed the CROWN Act as well or passed legislation similar to the CROWN Act. [18]
The United States House of Representatives passed the CROWN Act (H.R. 2116) on March 18, 2022. [19] Section 2 of the bill's text states that "some Federal courts have misinterpreted Federal civil rights law by narrowly interpreting the meaning of race or national origin, and thereby permitting, for example, employers to discriminate against people of African descent who wear natural or protective hairstyles even though the employment policies involved are not related to workers' ability to perform their jobs." [19]
Sections 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (the CROWN Act’s applications to federally assisted programs, housing programs, public accommodations, employment and equal rights under the law, respectively) state that on the federal level, discrimination against a hair texture or style would be prohibited if "that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a particular race or national origin (including a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros)." [19]
Proponents of the CROWN Act, including scholar Margaret Goodman, argue that this measure will flesh out the United States' legal protections against hair discrimination for people whose mutable hairstyles nevertheless intersect with their race. [20] On the federal level, CROWN Act opponents included all but 14 House Republicans who voted against the legislation in March 2022, with some characterizing it as unnecessary. [21]
A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.
Dreadlocks, also known as dreads or locs, are a hairstyle made of rope-like strands of hair. This is done by not combing the hair and allowing it to mat naturally or by twisting it manually. Over time, the hair will form tight braids or ringlets.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accommodations, and employment discrimination. The act "remains one of the most significant legislative achievements in American history".
A dress code is a set of rules, often written, with regard to what clothing groups of people must wear. Dress codes are created out of social perceptions and norms, and vary based on purpose, circumstances, and occasions. Different societies and cultures are likely to have different dress codes, Western dress codes being a prominent example.
The afro is a hair style created by combing out natural growth of afro-textured hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair. The hairstyle can be created by combing the hair away from the scalp, dispersing a distinctive curl pattern, and forming the hair into a rounded shape, much like a cloud or puff ball.
Cornrows are a style of traditionally three-strand braids, originating in Africa, in which the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to make a continuous, raised row. Cornrows are often done in simple, straight lines, as the term implies, but they can also be styled in elaborate geometric or curvilinear designs. They are distinct from, but may resemble, box braids, Dutch braids, melon coiffures, and other forms of plaited hair, and are typically tighter than braids used in other cultures.
Anti-discrimination law or non-discrimination law refers to legislation designed to prevent discrimination against particular groups of people; these groups are often referred to as protected groups or protected classes. Anti-discrimination laws vary by jurisdiction with regard to the types of discrimination that are prohibited, and also the groups that are protected by that legislation. Commonly, these types of legislation are designed to prevent discrimination in employment, housing, education, and other areas of social life, such as public accommodations. Anti-discrimination law may include protections for groups based on sex, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, mental illness or ability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, sex characteristics, religion, creed, or individual political opinions.
Employment discrimination law in the United States derives from the common law, and is codified in numerous state, federal, and local laws. These laws prohibit discrimination based on certain characteristics or "protected categories". The United States Constitution also prohibits discrimination by federal and state governments against their public employees. Discrimination in the private sector is not directly constrained by the Constitution, but has become subject to a growing body of federal and state law, including the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal law prohibits discrimination in a number of areas, including recruiting, hiring, job evaluations, promotion policies, training, compensation and disciplinary action. State laws often extend protection to additional categories or employers.
Kinky hair, also known as afro-textured hair, is a human hair texture prevalent in the indigenous populations of many regions with hot climates, mainly sub-Saharan Africa, some areas of Melanesia, and Australia. Each strand of this hair type grows in a repeating pattern of small contiguous kinks. These numerous kinks make kinky hair appear denser than straight, wavy, and curly hair types.
Racial Culture: A Critique is a 2005 non-fiction book by American author and Stanford Law School professor Richard T. Ford which raises critical questions regarding the somewhat popular and common presumption of political multiculturalism that social categories emerge from as a result of distinctive cultural practices. Ford argues against legislation that prevents discrimination on the basis of cultural practices and details specific examples in support of this argument.
African-American hair or Black hair refers to hair types, textures, and styles that are linked to African-American culture, often drawing inspiration from African hair culture. It plays a major role in the identity and politics of Black culture in the United States and across the diaspora. African-American hair often has a kinky hairy texture like Nana Daasebre's hair, appearing tightly coiled and packed. Black hair has a complex history, culture, and cultural impact, including its relationship with racism.
Hair twists, flat twists, or mini-twists, are a hairstyle popular with Afro-textured hair around the world, and sometimes with other hair textures. The style is achieved by dividing the hairs into several sections, twisting strands of hair, then twisting two twisted strands around one another. They can also be created with one strand of hair at a time, with a comb. They are not to be confused with larger, longer dreadlocks,.
Discrimination based on hair texture, also known as textureism, is a form of social injustice, where afro-textured hair or coarse hair types, and their associated hair styles, are viewed negatively, often perceived as "unprofessional", "unattractive", or "unclean". This view can lead, for example, to some school students being excluded from class.
The natural hair movement is a movement which aims to encourage people of African descent to embrace their natural, afro-textured hair; especially in the workplace. It originated in the United States during the 1960s, and resurged in popularity in the 2000s.
Braids are a complex hairstyle formed by interlacing three or more strands of hair. Braiding has been used to style and ornament human and animal hair for thousands of years in various cultures around the world.
In the United States, discrimination based on hair texture is a form of social injustice that has been predominantly experienced by African Americans and predates the founding of the country.
A protective hairstyle is a term predominantly used to describe hairstyles suitable for Afro-textured hair. These hairstyles are designed to minimize manipulation and exposure of the hair to environmental elements. Factors such as extreme temperatures, humidity, and precipitation can adversely affect hair health. Protective hairstyles are beneficial in mitigating these effects by keeping the hair tucked away and reducing its exposure to potentially damaging conditions.
Pamela L. Ferrell is an American entrepreneur, pioneer and advocate in the natural haircare field. She is best known for the pivotal role she played in assisting the United States (U.S.) Army and Navy with their review of hairstyle policies and regulations. She is the first known and documented African-American to help shape hair policies within the United States Armed Forces.
The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2022 was a bill in the United States Congress intended to prohibit discrimination based on an individual's hair texture or hairstyle by classifying such discrimination illegal under federal law. It applied to federally assisted programs, housing programs, public accommodations, and employment. The act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) on March 19, 2021. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced a companion bill in the Senate on March 22, 2021. The CROWN Act of 2022 marked the second time the legislation was introduced in Congress.
Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander is a lawyer, academic, author and consultant who created the first course in employment law addressing workplace discrimination for colleges of business and led in the development of what is now known as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB).