Put down the flag and pick up the fros!
The CROWN Coalition just announced its first annual “National CROWN Day,” to celebrate the one year anniversary of the signing of the historic CROWN Act, The Glow Up reports.
The coalition is made up of several companies including Dove, the National Urban League, Western Center on Law & Poverty, and Color of Change, who came together to ban hair discrimination in schools and the work place. The alliance began in 2019 with the goal of “creating a respectful and open world for natural hair,” eventually expounding their scope earlier this year to fight against all forms of racial discrimination.
The CROWN Act was made law in California by Governor Gavin Newsome just a year ago, and has already been adopted in 7 states and 2 municipalities with two dozen more states on board to review the bill in upcoming legislation. To celebrate this win, the coalition, which has since grown to 65 members including organizations such as the NAACP, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and the American Civil Liberties Union, announced their first annual CROWN Day.
“The CROWN Coalition…is declaring July 3, 2020 as National CROWN Day; the 1-year anniversary of the signing of The CROWN Act in California. National CROWN Day will be a day of solidarity for the human rights of Black men, women and children to wear their natural hair boldly and proudly, without the fear of being discriminated against in school or the workplace,” the coalition said in a statement.
Esi Eggleston Bracey, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of North America Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever, one of the founding companies in the coalition, spoke about the new holiday, saying, “Dove has always stood for beauty inclusion and rejects social injustice of any kind. We are proud to have inspired a movement with significant impact, but we still have work to do…We know that hair discrimination is just one form of racial discrimination and we are determined to help bring about systemic change to eradicate racism in all its forms.”
Dove, which is owned by Unilever, has already pledged $5 million to the cause and Eggleston Bracey says the company plans to continue backing that money with action. The new holiday “will feature a full day of virtual conversations [while encouraging people] to #PassTheCrown and sign the petition to end hair-based discrimination.”
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To sign the petition and find out more information visit www.thecrownact.com.
Ain’t no more 4th of July child! But we still have a reason to celebrate!
Photo Courtesy of @thenotoriouskia/@dove/Instagram