Protecting Natural Hair Wins as Congress Passes New Bill
Last Friday, Congress passed a bill that could end hair discrimination. The Crown Act is a bill that bans hair discrimination in employment and against people who participate in low-income Federal assisted programs. The bill passed in the House with a vote of 235-189. The next stop for the bill is the Senate. The Act failed to pass the House last month but is now sponsored by New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker in the Senate.
#CROWNNews: For the second time, #TheCROWNAct (H.R. 2116,aka the CROWN Act of 2022) has passed out of The U.S. House of Representatives!
— The CROWN Act (@thecrownact) March 18, 2022
Grateful for the amazing Black women & sponsoring legislators who have led this movement, such as @RepBonnie (Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman). pic.twitter.com/QaORrt0j6H
Crown stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” The Crown Act covers hairstyles like locs, braids, Afros, Bantu Knots, cornrows, etc. One of the most well-known representatives of our time, Ayanna Presley, gave a statement in the House from the perspective of a Black woman.
The House passed the CROWN Act, which bans race-based hair discrimination and now the legislation heads to the Senate. pic.twitter.com/XIEu0YawG7
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) March 18, 2022
“For too long, black girls have been discriminated against and criminalized for the hair that grows on our heads and the way we move through and show up in this world,” stated Rep Ayanna Pressley.
A 2019 study conducted by the JOY collective stated that Black Women were 80% more likely to feel pressure to change their hairstyles to fit them at the office. For years advocates on the local, state, and national levels have been trying to eliminate hair discrimination laws.
Just recently, in 2020, Deandre Arnold was banned from walking in his high school graduation ceremony in Texas because the length of his locs was against school policy. This story made national news and started the conversation about the Crown Act.
After the Crown Act passed the House, many states started creating their bills to eliminate hair discrimination. Massachusetts just passed a bill banning hair discrimination, and hopefully, other states will soon follow.
📣 GREAT NEWS! The #CROWNAct passed the House of Representatives today.
— Nat’l Urban League (@NatUrbanLeague) March 18, 2022
Now, let’s make sure it also passes the #Senate. Do your part to support the federal bill & end race-based hair discrimination nationwide: https://t.co/VtcpnhGqYg. #PassTheCROWN | @thecrownact pic.twitter.com/5MJL5AUVua
President Biden released a statement about the Crown Act, “No person should be denied the ability to obtain a job, succeed in school or the workplace, secure housing, or otherwise exercise their rights based on a hair texture or hairstyle.” Passing the Crown Act in the House is just the first step in an uphill battle to hair equality.