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CULTURE

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 in 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.
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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.

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.

“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.

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 in 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.
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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. 

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.