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On Friday, the House of Representatives passed The CROWN Act, a bill that will ban race-based hair discrimination at workplaces, federal programs, and public accommodations. I didn’t know CROWN was an acronym, but it is and it stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The bill passed in the House a vote of 235-189 and goes to the Senate next, where hopefully it will pass as well.

Hair discrimination has existed forever and this bill has been a long time coming after the issue has gained momentum in recent years. A few years ago, the US Army lifted its blatantly racist grooming policy. Several prominent Black celebrities like Gabrielle Union and Keke Palmer did a PSA to promote the CROWN Act, and even John Oliver got in on it with a segment about how “Black hair shouldn’t be judged by white people’s comfort.” Some states have already implemented their own laws, but with the CROWN Act this policy change would be national.

Congressional action on race-based hair discrimination comes after years of advocates pushing for policy change at the national level.

Several states have already implemented their own versions of the CROWN Act. On Thursday, Massachusetts became the latest state to pass a local ban on hair discrimination.

“Hair discrimination is rooted in systemic racism, and its purpose is to preserve white spaces,” the NAACP says. “Policies that prohibit natural hairstyles, like afros, braids, bantu knots, and locs, have been used to justify the removal of Black children from classrooms, and Black adults from their employment.”

A 2019 study conducted by the JOY Collective said Black women were 80% more likely to feel pressure to change their hairstyles in order to fit in at the office.

Federal protection is still needed, the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund said. That extra mile would give Black people a legal safety net from consequences at school or work for their natural hair.

More than a decade in the making

A prior attempt at taking hair discrimination complaints to court failed.

In May 2010, Chastity C. Jones, who was hired to work as a customer service representative with Catastrophe Management Solutions in Alabama, lost her job offer after she refused a human resources request for Jones to cut her dreadlocks.

A lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against CMS ultimately failed. An Alabama district court ruled CMS’s refusal to hire Jones because she wore dreadlocks didn’t violate federal civil rights law.

A narrow Democratic majority in the Senate may not be enough to get the CROWN Act approved despite President Biden expressing strong support for the bill.

The White House said, “The President believes that 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.”

[From NPR]

I can’t believe that lawsuit failed in Alabama of all places… Anyway, it’s mind-boggling to me that a workplace could engage in such obviously discriminatory behavior. And I’m glad some protections will finally be in place. The only request about hair that any workplace should make should be to wear a hairnet if you’re preparing food or something like that. Beyond a dress code, I can’t imagine how a comment like that on your personal appearance must feel in a work context. I’ve never had an issue like that in any of my jobs, but that might be by virtue of living in New York or my particular industry. Like, my colleagues have purple hair and roll up their shirtsleeves to show off their tattoo sleeves so no one is worried about natural hair, except to ask if I used a bun donut to get my bun so big and perfect.

But just in case anyone thinks this bill is unnecessary, here’s a recent example. About a week ago, my aunt forwarded me an Instagram and Change.org petition with a story about young man named Jacob who is homeschooled through Abeka Christian Academy. It seems that a school assistant named Karen (seriously) reached out to Jacob’s mother about the graduation ceremony because she “noticed” from his photo that his hair doesn’t meet the requirements for marching at graduation. Those requirements specify “no braids, dreadlocks, buns, or ponytails.” Karen asked for confirmation that Jacob would abide by the hair guidelines by graduation. After Jacob’s mother brought attention to this, the school simply removed the reference to braids and dreadlocks, however the requirements remain the same. The CROWN Act wouldn’t apply in time for this school, but this shows why it is necessary and hopefully the public pressure will affect the school so they let this young man walk.

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