WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) – Members of the community gathered at Tuesday night’s Wheeling City Council Meeting to hear a second reading of amendments to Article 169 of the Human Rights Commission.
The motion passed 6-0 to add language adopting the ‘Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair’ or CROWN Act.
Although it has been illegal to discriminate based on race for many years in Wheeling, this act includes in the definition of race that the discrimination based on natural hair – particularly hair textures and protective hairstyles historically associated with race – is deemed illegal.
”When there’s inclusion to know that all the community counts regardless of percentages, then Wheeling will move forward. We will be progressive. You know, it opens doors for all segments of the community – society, people, color, race, whatever it may be, gender. It opens up doors for that and a city that doesn’t work together, doesn’t stay together.”
Darryl Clausell – President, NAACP West Virginia
”I’m very pleased with the vote. I’m proud of my fellow members of council and, you know, I hope the people who were urging us not to do this really take a step back and look at all we did. It’s not the boogeyman idea that they thought it was. It’s a very narrow extension of a civil rights law that I think would make Wheeling more competitive to the outside world.”
Mayor Glenn Elliott – City of Wheeling
Mayor Elliott says that over the last year, the City of Wheeling has looked at what other cities have done and have been cautious with the details of this act and believe that this will assist in current and future instances of discrimination.
