The Akron Civil Rights Commission unanimously decided in favor of a Black man who claimed that his former employer, VanDevere Chevrolet, racially discriminated against him because of his hairstyle.
The commission decided Wednesday the dealership violated the CROWN Act amendment passed by Akron City Council in December 2020, which prohibits discrimination based on natural hairstyles and textures in workplaces and in schools.
For violating the ordinance, VanDevere Chevrolet must pay Seleke Korleh $850 in back pay for an 10-day period between the termination of his employment and the general manager offering to reinstate his position. The commission also ordered VanDevere to pay him $2,550 for injury, humiliation and embarrassment. The company is also responsible for paying Korleh’s attorney’s fees and must pay a $1,000 penalty to the commission.
Korleh began working as a sales consultant at the dealership in 2022. He filed a complaint with the ACRC in 2023, after the dealership said his hairstyle had to be changed for him to continue working in a customer-facing position.
Korleh’s hair was styled in locs at the time — rope-like strands created by twisting, braiding or matting hair — with beads and shells attached to them.
Management at the dealership thought Korleh’s hairstyle was “unprofessional” and needed to be “professionally conservative,” according to the ACRC decision.
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The first version of the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) was signed into law in 2019 in California, and 27 states have passed similar legislation since. Although Ohio is not on that list, Akron has joined cities such as Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland Heights in enacting the legislation.
A federal version of the legislation was passed by the House of Representatives in 2022, but it was not voted on by the Senate. In 2024, it was reintroduced in the House but did not move forward for a vote.
In waiting for the decision, Korleh said he did not care too much about what the outcome would be — in terms of financial compensation. But he did feel a release after the decision came out.
“I just wanted the truth to come out, which was that they discriminated against me,” Korleh said.
Korleh said that being a Black man in America comes with a lot of challenges, “but ultimately, I feel like it was time for me to stand my ground, and I think this is a moment in history.” He added that he does not want anyone, regardless of race, to feel how he did.
Akron Attorney Imokhai Okolo, who represented Korleh, said that he personally feels pride for being able to shepherd this case and secure wins for people like Korleh, who have been through “a whole bunch of nonsense” for something so little.
“We are grateful that the commission spoke truth to power, like we have this entire time,” Okolo said.
Attorneys for VanDevere Chevrolet declined to comment.
General manager said employee’s hairstyle violated dress code
Korleh filed his complaint with the commission in September 2023, a month after his employers, General Manager Brian VanDevere and a sales manager, gave him an ultimatum in an Aug. 1 meeting: Cut his hair, wear a hat during shifts or work a non-customer-facing job.
When Korleh was hired, he wore his hair in short locs, regularly covered by a hat, so as not to make it an issue, he said. As his locs grew longer, Korleh stopped wearing a hat and attached the beads and shells to his hair. The decision states that in July 2023 a sales manager told Korleh his hair was unprofessional and that he needed to wear a hat during shifts.
Korleh approached Brian VanDevere about the issue on July 31. The general manager said his hairstyle was prohibited by the company’s personal appearance policy.
At the time, the dress code stated, “Proper dress and good grooming and hygiene contribute to the morale of all associates and affect the business image we present to our customers and the community. You are expected to maintain a high standard of grooming and to present a professional and businesslike appearance consistent with the duties and responsibilities of your position. Extremes of any style are not permissible. No unnatural hair colors are permitted.”
Brian VanDevere gave Korleh the option to work a non-customer-facing job such as a lot porter, lube technician or detailer.
The topic was revisited in the Aug. 1 meeting. When Korleh did not accept the options presented to him, his employment was terminated.
Ten days later, Brian VanDevere left Korleh a voicemail stating that he was unaware of the law allowing Korleh to wear his hair “in any way that he want[s],” according to the decision, and offered to reinstate his position with compensation for the 10 days he was not employed.
Korleh did not respond to the voicemail and filed his complaint on Sept. 7.
CROWN Act case was commission’s first hearing related to the legislation
Korleh’s was the first CROWN Act case argued in front of the commission and the first case in which the commission held a full hearing since its inception in 2017, said Ellen Lander Nischt, the ACRC chair. (There was a hearing for another case, but the complaining party failed to show, she said.)
As the commission continues to do more work, Nischt said there is an effort being made to secure funding through the city’s operating budget. The commission members, who are volunteers, get paid $100 per meeting or hearing, but there is no budget for additional activity.
“We have no staff. We have no resources for education, which is a big part of our mission to sort of make the community aware of the laws that we enforce, that they exist,” Nischt said.
Okolo said it was nice to see some of the “fruit” of the creation of the commission and the CROWN Act legislation, in particular during a time with “nonsense” like eliminations in diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Okolo said that, although it may be a more difficult process, progress is made when people fight against situations like this rather than just walking away. Ultimately, they will win, and get the result that is meant to be, he said.
“Oftentimes it’s the easier thing to do — to walk away, to accept the racist ideals, or accept discrimination at face value or accept whatever is negative,” Okolo said. “It’s much harder to struggle through, to get your end result.”