Clarke: Pentagon’s new hair policy respects diversity
Congresswoman praises military’s about-face
The military has done an about-face on its controversial policy governing hairstyles worn by troops and U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke is praising the change as a move that respects the diversity of the men and women in uniform.
“The hairstyle guidelines failed to account for the diversity of our armed forces, in which 14 percent of active duty service members are women, a figure that will certainly increase in the future,” Clarke said. “I want to thank Secretary Hagel for reversing these guidelines, which would have effectively excluded thousands of women from the armed forces based on their ethnicity.”
Clarke (D-Central Brooklyn) was one of several lawmakers in the Congressional Black Congress (CBC) who pushed the Pentagon to reverse its policy banning long braids, dreadlocks, cornrows and other hairstyles favored by African-American women.
Clarke charged that the policy was discriminatory.