The U.S. House has passed the CROWN Act, a law that will ban race-based hair discrimination in the workplace, housing programs, and federally assisted programs.
It was voted 235-189 to pass this act which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.”
Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey made a statement about the act, “Natural Black hair is often deemed ‘unprofessional’ simply because it does not conform to White beauty standards.”
She added, “Discrimination against Black hair is discrimination agaisnt Black people.” This bill was designed to protect against the bias on protective hairstyles including Afros, locs, Bantu Knots, twists, braids, and more.
Democratic Rep. Cori Bush also said, “As a Black woman who loves my braids, I know what it’s like to feel isolated because of how I wear my hair. This is the last time we say no more to Black people being demeaned and discriminated against for the same hairstyles that corporations profit from.”
Rep. Bush added, “No more to Black people being made to feel like we have cut our locs just to get a job. This is the last time we say no more to Black people being made to feel like we have to straighten our hair to be deemed professional.”
Thoughts on this?