NAACP Cites Crown Act After ShopRite Allegedly Sent Employee Home For Having Red Braids

The NAACP is supporting a former NFL player who is calling out a ShopRite in Connecticut for allegedly sending a girl home for having colored braids.

Andrew Pinnock, who played for the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos, believes his daughter was discriminated against at a ShopRite in Enfield, Connecticut when she was told she could not have red hair. He has since joined with the Connecticut and Greater Hartford branches of the NAACP at a press conference on Wednesday, March 13, to accuse the store of violating the Crown Act, the WFSB reports.

“It has come to our attention that a Black employee was asked to leave work because she had red coloring in her hair,” a statement said. “This discriminatory action by the management at ShopRite is unacceptable and goes against the Crown Act recently signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont.”

Pinnock said his daughter was just two months into her first job and was excited about the different ways she could wear her red-colored braids. He cried tears while recalling the embarrassment she felt after being told she could not wear the hairstyle.

“She starts twirling her hair like ‘maybe I can just pull my hair out like this or take it out,’ but she doesn’t know,” he shared.

State lawmakers joined the press conference to cite the Crown Act, which prohibits discrimination against hairstyles typically worn by people of color.

“And to know this young lady came to work to do a job and was sent home because of her hair. It just doesn’t make sense,” Rep. Robyn Porter, a Democrat who represents the state’s 94th District. said.

The NAACP is calling on the local community and advocates to protest the “unjust treatment” Pinnock’s daughter was subjected to. The store has since released a statement that didn’t address the incident directly but acknowledged the passage of the Crown Act.

“ShopRite of Enfield has always been committed to creating a culture of inclusion and belonging for the associates we employ, the customers we serve, and the suppliers with whom we do business. All are to be treated with dignity and respect,” the statement said.

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