The Importance of the CROWN Act

By Saniyah Ikard

The Natural Hair Movement 

The natural hair movement is a movement to encourage people of African descent to wear and love their hair in its natural state. It sounds simple, but for Black people, it can be hard to love hair that isn’t deemed beautiful by the world’s standards. The natural hair movement originated in the 1960s during the civil rights movement, with the iconic afro being a symbol of Black power. Today, while Black people, specifically Black women, have more options on how to wear our hair, our freedom of expression with our hair can still be limited. 

Hair discrimination is a form of systemic racism, where Black Americans are excluded from spaces for wearing their hair in its natural state or protective styles. It is often used to exclude Black people from certain spaces or force them to conform to white Standards. There are many environments where our natural hair can be deemed “wrong,” such as schools, workplaces, sports, and more. Our natural hair can be labeled as “unprofessional,” or “inappropriate.” The natural hair movement is so important; it speaks life into Black people and builds them up as the world tries to tear them down. Most people don’t know that there’s a way to fight against natural hair discrimination: the CROWN Act. 

What is the CROWN Act? 

The CROWN Act is a law that forbids race-based hair discrimination based on hair texture or protective styles (including braids, locs, twists, or Bantu knots). It was first introduced and signed into law in California in 2019. Since then, lawmakers and organizations have pushed for more states to adopt the law and protect their citizens against hair discrimination. CROWN is a play on words, for natural hair being symbolized as a “crown,” and also an acronym for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” Only half the U.S. has passed the CROWN Act, meaning that in half the U.S., Black people are unprotected from hair discrimination.

 Why is it Important? 

Hair discrimination is not only unconstitutional per the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but it’s extremely harmful. CROWN research studies show that: 

• Black women’s hair is 2.5x more likely to be perceived as unprofessional compared to other women 
• Over half of Black women feel they must wear straight hair to a job interview to get the role 
• Over 20% of Black women between the ages of 25-34 have been sent home from work because of their hair 
• 53% of Black mothers say their daughters have experienced racial discrimination as early as Kindergarten 
• 100% of Black elementary school girls in majority-white schools who report having experienced hair discrimination experienced it by the age of 10 
• 81% of Black children in majority-white schools express that they sometimes wish their hair was straight 

Hair discrimination has real measurable impact on Black people, specifically Black women. It is not an exaggeration, but a pressing issue that requires real legislation. There are still cases today where people of all ages are facing hair discrimination across the U.S., and it’s unacceptable.  We all can contribute to the CROWN Act’s mission by raising awareness and advocating. It’s not just the responsibility of Black people to advocate for themselves, but for other racial and ethnic groups to stand with us and advocate for this basic human right. 

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