U.S. House of Representatives Passes The Crown Act Aimed At Ending Natural Hair Discrimination Nationwide

One step closer to an equitable world!

The United States House of Representatives just passed The Crown Act, a bill aimed at ending natural hair discrimination across the country, Refinery 29 reports.

In 2019, a Black beauty alliance formed between several companies, including Dove, the National Urban League, Western Center on Law & Poverty, and Color of Change. The alliance focuses on creating and supporting a bill that would legally ban discrimination based on a person’s hairstyle or texture in jobs and schools. 

The CROWN Coalition “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair,” joined with other organizations like NAACP to promote the bill, with seven states and two municipalities adopting it as law. This year, the coalition announced its plans to expand its focus to ending all forms of racial discrimination, celebrating the 1st annual National Crown Day. 

This week, the House Judiciary Committee announced the passing of the bill via Twitter, writing, “The #CROWNAct will explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of natural hair as a form of race or national origin discrimination.” 

Rep. Cedric Richmond (Louisiana), Rep. Barbara Lee (California), Rep. Marcia Fudge (Ohio), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts) all introduced the bill to the House, where it successfully passed. The historic bill is now heading to the Senate. Seven states have adopted it as law, including California, New York, Washington, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Colorado. A majority of the 100 U.S. Senate representatives will have to approve the legislation for it to be signed into law.  

Rep. Lee shared the exciting news via social media, “No one should feel forced to change their natural hair. I’ve been rocking my crown for decades & everybody should feel empowered to rock theirs too.” 

Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts echoed the sentiments and showed her support, saying, “Discrimination against Black hair is racist. It stops equality in school and the workplace…Senate, it’s your turn to stand up for #HairLove.”

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar also stood behind the Act, saying, “For far too long, Black women have been penalized for simply existing as themselves – that ends today…This passage is long overdue, but an important step forward to combat racial discrimination.” 

To raise as much awareness as possible the coalition asks everyone to contact their state senator and show support for this legislation by urging them to pass it. 

To learn more about the CROWN Act and how to get involved, visit www.thecrownact.com.

Photo Courtesy of The Zoe Report