SPRINGFIELD – A 2019 Dove study found that African American women face the highest instances of hair discrimination and are more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair. State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) is working to ensure this will no longer be the case in Illinois.

“No one should have to miss out on a job opportunity or miss a school graduation because of the hair that grows naturally out of their head,” Hunter said. “It’s 2021. As a nation, we should be past this petty discrimination.”

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CHICAGO – State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) is expressing support for Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ becoming a national historical site after U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) introduced federal legislation this week.

“I am pleased that Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ may become a national landmark,” Hunter said. “Churches were an integral part of the Civil Rights movement, and should be remembered as such.”

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CHICAGO – During Thursday’s joint Senate hearing on age, equity, workers’ rights and consumer protection, Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) advocated for increased protection among minority workers and consumers.

The U.S. Department of Labor in October released a wage report for the third quarter of this year, revealing that Black workers on average earn 72% of what white men earn. Broken down by gender, Black men earn 77.5% of what white men earn, while Black women make only 68.5%. In Chicago specifically, wage gaps grew significantly over the last several decades, causing what UIC researchers call “a growing exodus” of Black Chicagoans.

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CHICAGO — Legislators met Thursday to discuss economic equity, access, and opportunity for Black communities as the third pillar of a larger agenda to address the deep injustices facing Black Illinoisans. State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) stated the need for more affordable housing as a primary implementable step.

“Black Americans have suffered economic disparities for centuries,” Hunter said. “We never received our 40 acres and a mule, and the loss of generational wealth in addition to the effects of segregation and housing discrimination have further devastated our communities, not to mention COVID-19 more recently.”

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