Congresswoman Lee Lauds Passage of Amendment to Ban Funding for Discriminatory Hair Regulations in the U.S. Army
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lee applauded the passage of her amendment to block funding for discriminatory Army regulations which ban many natural hairstyles worn by women of color. The updated guidelines, released in March, included twists, large cornrows, and dreadlocks on its list of unauthorized hairstyles.
“I am pleased that my amendment to stop the implementation of the Army’s new discriminatory regulations passed the appropriations committee,” said Congresswoman Lee. “The army’s use of words like ‘unkempt’ and ‘matted’ to describe the hairstyles of African American women are offensive stereotypes.”
“As the daughter of a veteran, I recognize the need for uniformity in the military,” added Congresswoman Lee. “But targeting women of color with no consideration of the requirements they face to maintain their natural hair is prejudiced and wrong.
“While I am pleased that the Department of Defense is reviewing the regulation, we must halt implementation until we have a more comprehensive understanding of the impact to service members of color. With African Americans representing one-third of the women in the armed forces, the U.S. Army must ensure that any proposed guidelines and policies are fair, balanced and culturally appropriate.”
Congresswoman Lee’s amendment will be included in the Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill when it goes to the floor for a vote.
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, as well as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), where she serves as the Co-Chair of the CPC Peace and Security Task Force.