SB 531

Discrimination – Definition of Race – Hair Texture and Hairstyles

Sponsor: William C. Smith, Jr. (District 20)Committee: Judicial ProceedingsSubject: Human RelationsStatus: Enacted under Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution - Chapter 474 (as of Nov 6, 2020)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Defining 'race', for the purposes of certain laws prohibiting discrimination, to include certain traits associated with race, including hair texture and certain hairstyles; and defining 'protective hairstyle' as a hairstyle including braids, twists, and locks.

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Testimony (19)

MGA witness list

FAV 18FavorableUNF 1Unfavorable

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	WILLIAMS, JESSICA	ATTORNEY GENERAL	Written (PDF)
FAV	blanchard, orlena nwokah	CROWN coalition rep	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Jefferson, Staceylobbyist	Marylanders Against Poverty	Written (PDF)
FAV	Castelli, Bill	Md Realtors	Written (PDF)
FAV	Irwin, Laura	MoCo community action	Written (PDF)
FAV	owusu, pokuaa	PG county executive's office	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Black, Ashley	PJC	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ruth, Laure	Women's Law Center of MD	Written (PDF)
FAV	gardner, shamoyia	advocates for children and youth	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	busby, ron	black chamber of commerce	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	ifekauche, deloralobbyist	cornerstone governmental affairs	Position only
FAV	jawando, will	councilmember, montgomery county	Position only
FAV	bonardi, jordan	jack and jill of america	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	bishop, susan	jaha hair studio	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	hughes, glendora	maryland commission on civil rights	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Mbilishaka, Dr. Afiya Mangum	psychologist, hair historian	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Senator Smith, Senator Smithlegislator	Individual	Position only
FAV	Taylor, Amber	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Drew, Alan	MCDAA	Position only

Organizations on record

advocates for children and youthFAV 1

ATTORNEY GENERALFAV 1

black chamber of commerceFAV 1

cornerstone governmental affairsFAV 1

councilmember, montgomery countyFAV 1

CROWN coalition repFAV 1

jack and jill of americaFAV 1

jaha hair studioFAV 1

maryland commission on civil rightsFAV 1

Marylanders Against PovertyFAV 1

MCDAAUNF 1

Md RealtorsFAV 1

MoCo community actionFAV 1

PG county executive's officeFAV 1

PJCFAV 1

psychologist, hair historianFAV 1

Women's Law Center of MDFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVJefferson, StaceyMarylanders Against PovertyRegistered for: Behavioral Health System Baltimore

FAVifekauche, deloracornerstone governmental affairsRegistered for: ALS Association, The; Adobe; Allied Universal; American Petroleum Institute; Amgen, Inc.; Annie E. Casey Foundation, Inc., The…