CROWN ACT: Why Hair Discrimination Needs to End
By: Angela Tilghman, Communications Associate
White America has historically made fun of Black hair. Our hair has been everything but beautiful. Black women and men still continuously fight for the right to wear their hair how they please. A Black woman wearing braids is seen as trashy but when a Kardashian wears the same braids, they are trendsetting. Black men with locs cannot wear those locs comfortably to a job interview, or in general, without being talked about. I have read too many articles where Black girls often get into trouble for wearing braids to school and Black men cannot get a job because they choose to have locs.
This is what makes the CROWN Act so important and timely.
First introduced in California in January 2019 and signed into law on July 3, 2019, the inaugural CROWN Act expanded the definition of race in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and state Education Code, to ensure protection in workplaces and in K-12 public and charter schools. Since then, The CROWN Act has galvanized support from federal and state legislators in the movement to end hair discrimination nationwide. This law has been passed in three states which are California, New Jersey, and New York, and this law has also been passed in county and local municipalities in the cities of Cincinnati, Ohio and Montgomery County, Maryland. Twenty-six states including Georgia are considering the CROWN Act to be put into effect in their state and have expressed the desire to pass their own anti-hair discrimination bills which have been either pre-filed or filed.
The CROWN Act is important because it ensures that Black women and Black men candidates are evaluated based on their qualifications despite what their hair may look like. The CROWN Act ensures that we will not have a repeat of Andrew Johnson, whose locs were cut off during a wrestling match.
The CROWN Act ensures that Black people across the country will be allowed to wear their hair as they desire without fear of repercussions.
I can remember times where I would look up different hairstyles and see hair that did not look like mine. Even now, it is abundantly clear that discrimination based on natural hair is still happening right now. See Black Women With Natural Hairstyles Are Less Likely To Get Job Interviews (CNN, August 12, 2020) Women should wear their hair in neat and tidy styles such as a ponytail or straight. It was not until last year that I truly got comfortable with wearing my natural hair out. I knew that my now employer was Black woman so I immediately knew my hair would not be an issue. I had to sell my skills and why I was a perfect fit for the company. In past interviews, I would put a wig on or straighten my hair so that I would not be unqualified. I am forever thankful that I do work for Black woman and I do not need to feel ashamed of my hair.
My hope is that the United State Senate does the right thing and passes the bill. This bill is beyond important and will allow Black and brown children in America to wear their hair as they desire without feeling like they are not good enough.
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