Puerto Rico has passed a landmark bill prohibiting discrimination against natural hair and protective hairstyles in both private and public institutions, thanks to the persistent efforts of grassroots activists.
Alanis Ruiz Guevara, who was sent home from her private school in Ponce, Puerto Rico, at the age of 8 for wearing cornrow braids, is a key figure behind this legislation. Now 25, Ruiz Guevara recalls feeling ashamed of her hair at that time. This personal experience drove her to advocate for Senate Bill 1282, which was signed into law by Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Pierluisi last Wednesday. The bill mandates all establishments to adjust their regulations to reflect this new public policy.
“Puerto Rico needs legislation that protects people who wish to wear their hair naturally or in African styles, which is a personal decision that has nothing to do with our creative, intellectual, or professional performance,” Ruiz Guevara stated after the measure’s approval.
Ruiz Guevara’s journey from a young girl using hair relaxers to fit in, to an advocate for hair discrimination laws, highlights the significant impact of grassroots efforts. Her involvement with Colectivo Ilé and Revista étnica’s Afro-Juventudes program, which promotes anti-racism learning for Afro-descendant youth, was pivotal. It was there she learned about the CROWN Act, a California law that inspired similar legislation across 26 states despite failing to gain federal approval.
In 2021, as an intern with Jóse Bernardo Márquez of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives, Ruiz Guevara introduced the “Law Against Hair Discrimination.” Initially stalled, she revamped her proposal with the support of Mentes Puerto Rico en Acción, an initiative assisting young people in creating social projects. She also formed Colectiva de Resistencia Cimarrona to address systemic racism and promote the bill.
Using U.S. data from the CROWN movement and statistics showing that 80% of Black women in the U.S. are likely to change their natural hair to meet social norms at work, Ruiz Guevara strengthened her proposal. Empirical evidence from Social Psychological and Personality Science magazine underscored the bias against natural Black hairstyles in the workplace.
The proposal caught the attention of Sen. Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, Puerto Rico’s first Black female senator, who, along with Sen. Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl, reintroduced the bill in August 2023. Despite initial resistance from local officials and private institutions, the bill spurred public dialogue about race and discrimination.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t think there’s a problem mainly because they haven’t experienced it,” said Ruiz Guevara. “We haven’t had these conversations regarding this type of discrimination that at the end of the day is rooted in racism.”
Olga Chapman Rivera, communications director at Corredor Afro, one of 30 organizations supporting the measure, highlighted the mixed reception. She noted that discussions about race are less frequent in Puerto Rico compared to the U.S., partly due to the widespread belief that Puerto Ricans are equally indigenous Taino, African descendant, and Spaniard. This narrative, she argues, obscures the reality of racism in Puerto Rico.
According to the U.S. Census, over 1.6 million Puerto Ricans identify as being of two or more races, with 230,000 identifying solely as Black. Hair plays a significant role in preserving Afro-descendant cultural heritage, a perspective gaining recognition in Puerto Rico. For instance, a shampoo commercial in April showcased how cornrows were historically used by enslaved individuals to map escape routes.
“Braids have ancestral meaning to us,” Ruiz Guevara explained.
With the new law in place, Ruiz Guevara emphasizes the importance of ensuring its implementation and pushing for additional anti-racism policies. “It has to begin with creating more policies against discrimination,” she said.
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