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On this episode of a Black hair being policed, a man whose head was shaved by prison officers, despite his hair being an expression of his religion. After taking legal action, he’s finally gotten some good news on having his case heard… from the highest court of the land.
Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case of Damon Landor, a dedicated Rastafarian. Landor filed a lawsuit based on the 2020 incident when he had his dreadlocks cut off by prison officials in the Louisiana-based Raymond Laborde Correction Center. There, he was serving a five-month sentence for drug-related charges, per NBC News.
His suit says he provided a copy of a court ruling that allowed practicing Rastafarians to keep their locs due to their religious practice of growing their hair. However, his wishes were dismissed and he was handcuffed to a chair for a clean shave.
Landor filed his suit upon his release from prison, arguing that his locs should have been protected under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Since then, Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill stated new changes were made to ensure this doesn’t happen again to another Rastafarian. However, the report says she challenged the possibility of him being able to claim monetary damages. Both a federal judge and appeals judge also ruled against his claim for damages, per court documents. However, the Supreme Court decided to hear the case.
Landor's case could have major implications on how hair is protected legally for inmates. The CROWN Act, aimed toward creating statutory protections for hair based on race (not religion), is still fighting its way through national legislation. Though Landor's case is focused on defending his religion instead of arguing racial discrimination, could his argument still thrust hair protections to the next level for Black inmates in general? The Root asked CROWN Act Champion and scholar Dr. Adjoa B. Asamoah to weigh in.
"The CROWN Act extends statutory protection to everyone when passed and becomes law. There is not a specific environment in which the crown act you know we are we are seeking to make sure people have their rights," Dr. Asamoah said. "From a personal perspective, protecting people's civil rights is not something that should have limitations in my view. It's important for us to always center people's humanity like especially now there should be an increased focus on acknowledging fellow humans independent of incarceration status, independent religious beliefs, gender - let's treat humans like humans and protect people civil rights. That's why we have them."
Cases like Landor should garner hair protections for people not just based on religion, but also race as locs are consistently a point of contention for most hair discrimination cases. He plans to argue his right to damages based on the Court’s previous ruling on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, per the report. The Court will hear the case on their next term which begins in October.
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