Black Lawmakers Reintroduce the CROWN Act

A Bicameral Series of Black Lawmakers about Wednesday reintroduced legislation offering protection against hair discrimination.

Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman and Senator Cory Booker gathered outside the Capitol with fellow lawmakers, as well as Adjoa B. Asamoah, co-founder of the CROWN Coalition, as they announced the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act, or CROWN Act .

Watson Coleman said lawmakers were reintroducing the bill “for the simple reason that no one — no worker, no student, no person — should face discrimination because of how the hair grows on their head.”

“We can’t control the texture of our hair the same way we can control the color of our skin,” said Watson Coleman. “And yet, Black Americans routinely face discrimination simply because of the way their hair is.”

One 2020 to study from Michigan State and Duke universities found that Black women with natural hair are often perceived as less professional and less competent than Black women with straightened hair or white women with straight or curly hair. They are also less likely to be referred for job interviews.

More than 20% of black women have been sent home from work because of their hair. One-third of black women under 34 believe they have been denied a job interview because of their hair.

“Our hair plays a significant role in our overall well-being, self-esteem, cultural identity and personal expression,” said Watson Coleman. “Discrimination against black hair is discrimination against black people. And let’s end this.”

The CROWN Act would prohibit discrimination based on the texture of an individual’s hair or hairstyle that is coiled or tightly coiled, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, bantu knots, afros, and any other hairstyle commonly associated with a race or national origin in the definition of racial discrimination.

“No one should face harassment or discrimination based on their natural hair, and the CROWN Act is an effort to heal a systemic bias that tells Black people that who they are inherently is wrong,” Booker said.

“Prejudice against black hair degrades an important foundation of our identity and cultural heritage,” he continued. “It is time for the long and storied history of implicit and explicit bias against natural hair to come to an end. Black hair is beautiful in all its forms and styles, and we must ensure that individuals are free to express their cultural identities without fear of bias or bias.”

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the legislation is supported by the entire caucus.

“Whether it’s students like Darryl George, the Texas student who was banned from class because of what’s in his head instead of what’s in his head, or Black women across our country who are being forced to change the hair in order to be accepted – whether in the workplace or any other environment – ​​this is wrong and must stop,” said Horsford. “It is a direct form of racist discrimination. And that has to stop, and that’s what the CROWN Act is about.”

Those who gathered on Wednesday were adamant that discrimination based on hair is racist.

Asamoah, co-founder of the CROWN Coalition, said hair discrimination is based on Eurocentric beauty standards and as such is anti-Black.

“We know that in many ways, anti-Blackness is pervasive,” she said. “While race, the way we typically discuss it, is a social construct, racism is very real and requires a thoughtful and intentional approach to dismantle the rules and practices that reinforce it and, in this case, to mitigate the physical, psychological and economic. harm caused by race-based hair discrimination.”

This isn’t the first time Democrats have tried to pass legislation.

In March 2022, the House introduced a national CROWN Act legislation which later stalled in the Senate.

Although no federal legislation has been passed, more than 20 states have enacted a CROWN Act.

But each state has different levels of protection, and in recent months these disparities have made headlines.

Most notably, George, the Texas high school student, has remained on in-school suspension for his locations since August. School officials said his locs fell below his eyebrows and earlobes and therefore violated the district’s dress code, although George’s family disputes this. They are now suing the school district.

Although black students are disciplined at four times the rate of any other racial or ethnic group, research found that 70 percent of all suspension disciplines are discretionarymany of them stemming from dress code violations, including “unapproved” hairstyles.

“Our babies need to be in school environments that are stimulating and conducive to their development,” said Asamoah.

On Wednesday, Watson Coleman said the disciplinary action against George is not actually due to a dress code violation, but because “he is a young black man in a predominantly white school district.”

The Federal CROWN Act would provide research, statistics, and precedent to support the need to define and prohibit hair discrimination in the workplace and schools in order to enforce civil rights protections.

It would also provide clear definitions that describe the bill’s enforcement mechanisms.

Representative Ayanna Pressley emphasized that the CROWN Act is also a public health law due to the health problems Black women face chemicals applied to their hair for assimilation.

But, she added, it’s also about sending a message to Black Americans everywhere they belong.

“Whether you are a student in the classroom, an employee in the workplace, or the next Supreme Court justice, you belong everywhere, just as you are.”