Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation aimed at combating racial discrimination against natural hair and protective hairstyles traditionally worn by Black people. The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act bans discrimination based on hairstyles commonly associated with race including tightly coiled or curled hair, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and more. U.S. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12) introduced companion legislation on the House side.
Although existing federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, several federal courts have narrowly construed those protections to permit schools, workplaces, and federally funded institutions to discriminate against people of color who wear certain types of natural or protective hairstyles.
The CROWN Act provides explicit protection against racial discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles associated with African heritage.
“It is wrong that Americans – particularly those within the Black community – continue to face discrimination based on how they choose to style their natural hair,” said Senator Collins. “This is an issue of basic fairness and equality, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill and stand against discrimination in all of its forms.”
“Everyone, regardless of their race or background, should be able to show up every day to school or work or life and embrace their racial identity without fear of prejudice or bias,” said Senator Booker. “Numerous states have already enacted legislation to prohibit hair discrimination, and the CROWN Act is a bipartisan federal effort to ensure that Black people can wear their hair freely in a natural or protective hairstyle.”
Already, 27 states, including Maine, Nebraska, and New Jersey have already enacted legislation expressly prohibiting hair discrimination, and 45 states have either passed, pre-filed, filed, or formally stated intent to introduce legislation proposing similar classification in their state.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
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