JB
From left: Democratic Rep. Antonio Parkinson, Republican Speaker Cameron Sexton, and Natural Divinity proprietor Yvette Granger
Who sez political bipartisanship is a thing of the past?
That it still exists, after a fashion, was made evident Friday when Democratic state Representative Antonio “2-Shay” Parkinson (D-Memphis) and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) embarked on a common mission in Memphis.
The two of them, with Republican consultant Chip Saltsman in tow, made the rounds of local hair salons, the purpose being to showcase the region’s potential as the center of a bona fide folk industry while simultaneously talking up House Bill 204 and Senate Bill 136, “legislation enacting the Crown Act to create a respectful and open world for natural hair.”
The bill is sponsored by two Memphians — in the House by Democratic Leader Karen Camper of Memphis and in the Senate by the party’s caucus chair, Raumesh Akbari.
The core premise of the act is to add verbiage to Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-21-102, which has to do with areas vulnerable to discrimination — to wit, hairstyles that connote “ancestry, ethnic group identification, ethnic background, and the physical or cultural characteristics associated with a certain race, including, but not limited to, hair texture or protective hairstyles.”
Characteristics of such styles include (but are not limited to) “braids, locks, and twist,” according to the bill’s summary.
All of this is totally on the level maintained Parkinson, as — abetted by strategic nods of the head from Sexton — he made the case for the bill at the group’s first stop, Natural Divinity in Cordova. (Other stops were at The Institute of Beauty on North Stage Road, and at A Natural Affair, Inc. on Poplar Avenue.)
Parkinson focused on the bill’s twin aspects. One aim is to help build up the natural hair industry. “I think there’s an opportunity to capitalize on our assets and depict ourselves as the natural hair care center of the world.”
And, he said, there’s an actual need to deter discrimination. “There has been, you know, over the last century or so, just an acceptance of the European standard which is straight for the most part. And I even know people who are Italian and have naturally curly hair that are asked to straighten their hair to fit into the market. To combat such discrimination is to take part in the protection of your race, because your hair grows out of your head and is an aspect of your race. I myself was a victim of discrimination because of hair when I was in the Shelby County Fire Department.”
Parkinson, a sturdy ex-Marine, is famous for wearing a porkpie hat, in and out of doors. But he was hatless on Friday, having tuned up for his remarks by standing at a mirror and working over his abundant hair curls with a styling brush.
Speaker Sexton was largely a spectator but made it clear he saw an economic advantage to the day’s activities. “It’s great to have people in business like this for over a decade, and we should do everything we can every day to help small businesses like this be successful by doing and encouraging the things that they love. That’s what we should be trying to do, and so I look forward to learning more about this [business] throughout today from our small business owners who are giving a lot back to the community.”
The legislative duo had other purposes and other stops as well. Sexton — something more of an outgoing type than former GOP Speaker Glen Casada, now deposed — spent Thursday night addressing members and guests of the Collierville Chamber of Commerce and had meetings scheduled on Friday with several local suburban mayors.
