Is it racism, ignorance or both? KY Senate shelves CROWN act until next year | Opinion
The General Assembly has worked overtime this session to horrify us with a parade of terrible bills that target the most marginalized children in our society or drag queens, wasting their time and our own with dumb discussions of foot fetishes and grooming instead of serious public policy.
But just as terrible are the things they’ve chosen not to do. In particular, the Senate had a slam dunk ready to go, and whether because of ignorance or racism have let the opportunity go by for another session.
I’m talking about the CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. It stemmed from a national movement started in 2019 to extend statutory protection to end discrimination against mostly Black women, but plenty of other people, too, because of their natural hair and race-based hairstyles such as such as braids, locs, twists and knots in the workplace and public schools. According to the national coalition, more than 20% of Black women between the ages of 25 and 34 have been sent home from work because of their hair.
Senate Bill 63 was sponsored by a Republican chairman, Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, and supported by a host of students who have showed up several years in a row to advocate for the bill.
The bill, which is co-sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, got out of committee on a 6-3 vote but stalled in the Senate, even after Westerfield filed an amendment to make it clear the protections would not supersede safety policies.
On Friday, Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said the bill didn’t have enough votes to pass the full Senate. (This is, mind you, the same Senate that easily found the votes to pass out Thayer’s SB 75 to punish Lexington’s parking agency because Thayer was going to have to pay more a little more to visit with his horsey friends at Dudley’s and Frank & Dino’s in downtown Lexington.)
Westerfield said he is disappointed and frustrated the bill was sent back to committee.
“It requires more time to convince people why this is important,” he said. “I think it’s easy to see and I think the bill is easy to pass and harmless to vote for, but it didn’t have time.”
It is harmless and might have proven that the GOP has moved past its racist past into the modern world where it represents more than its conservative white base. It would have also recognized the lobbying efforts of Kentucky students who take their civic duties seriously, and neutralized some of the terrible public relations Kentucky has gotten for bullying transgender children.
“When young people from across Kentucky descended on the capital earlier this month, they had a simple request for state lawmakers — ensure that schools can’t discriminate against our natural hair,” said Andrew Brennan, a founding member of the Kentucky Student Voice Team. “Their request for more inclusivity came with the support of a powerful member of the General Assembly’s supermajority. And though their geographically, racially, generationally and ideologically diverse coalition represents both the present and the future of our commonwealth, it wasn’t enough to convince lawmakers to pass the CROWN act.
“But if there’s one thing these young people showed it’s their resolve to advocate for more just schools. That is why I know these students will be back at it again next year.”
Trying to understand
Westerfield said he knows many of his colleagues simply don’t understand the issue, and neither did he until he and his wife adopted two biracial children.
“This was not on my radar before, and I hate that for myself because there have been times and opportunities to advocate that I’ve missed,” he said.
Westerfield’s honesty is admirable, and while he’s shown himself to frequently be one of the more thoughtful members of the General Assembly, his response begged the question of how he will vote on House Bill 470, which bans most gender-affirming care and will probably come before the Senate some time this week.
“I see the parallels between the two bills, but 470 is tougher,” he said early Monday morning. “I’m not a slam dunk yes, and I assume that makes everyone mad.”
Westerfield said he wanted to talk to his Republican House colleague Kim Moser, who voted no because she said the bill went too far.
This is what good government should be about — research, discussion and attempts to understand how people who are different live or try to live their lives. Westerfield is a conservative Christian, who is ardently anti-abortion rights. We disagree on many issues. But he deserves credit for trying to understand other people’s reality on the ground. If only his colleagues could try to do the same.
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 10:54 AM.
