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The Crown Act and other efforts aim to ban discrimination against people based on hairstyle

Jada Pinkett Smith attends the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
Jada Pinkett Smith attends the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Chris Rock’s recent wisecrack at the Oscars about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head has brought renewed attention to the long history of jokes about Black hair.

Angela Onwuachi-Willig, dean of Boston University School of Law, discusses the incident at the Academy Awards and efforts to pass legislation at the state and federal level to ban discrimination against people based on their hairstyles.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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