Everything you need to know about The CROWN Act - and which States have passed it

Portrait of laughing young woman with curly hair against white wall - stock photo

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By Fiona Embleton 2021-02-18T17:20:40Z

The CROWN Act, much like The Halo Code in the UK, aims to protect Black people against hair discrimination. Sadly, race-based hair discrimination still runs rife with coils, afros and braids often deemed "unkempt" in offices and classrooms.

Similarly, it's like the hair industry only recently received the memo that it needs to cater for all hair types, from styling products that respect each curl pattern to conditioners that nourish even the tightest coils and the best brushes for curly hair.

In an effort to eliminate hair discrimination once and for all, many states have begun passing legislation that addresses this issue.

In June 2019, California made headlines by becoming the first state to outlaw the racial discrimination of individuals based on their natural hairstyles. The law, also known as the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair), states, "In a society in which hair has historically been one of many determining factors of a person’s race, and whether they were a second class citizen, hair today remains a proxy for race.Therefore, hair discrimination targeting hairstyles associated with race is racial discrimination."

The measure notes that while Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race, it only protected against discrimination against afros. California’s ban unequivocally protects all presentations of natural hair—including braids, twists, locs, and knots—from discrimination in the workplace and K-12 public schools.

Want to do more to make sure that every state passes The CROWN Act? Join The Crown Coalition via The CROWN Act's website. Or sign a petition here to help end hair discrimination.