The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act of 2022 that would ban discrimination on the basis of hair texture or hairstyles commonly associated with people of a particular race or national origin.
The House passed the bill, 235-189. The bill will proceed to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
According to a 2019 study conducted by Joy Collective, Black people are “disproportionately burdened by policies and practices in public places, including the workplace that target, profile or single them out for natural hairstyles” and other hairstyles traditionally associated with their race, like braids, locks, and twists. The study revealed 80% of Black women believed they had to change their hairstyle to “fit into the office” and 83% thought they were judged more harshly because of their hair.
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) sponsored the bill and praised its passage.
“Natural Black hair is often deemed ‘unprofessional’ simply because it does not conform to white beauty standards,” Watson Coleman said in a statement. “Discrimination against Black hair is discrimination against Black people. I’m proud to have played a part to ensure that we end discrimination against people for how their hair grows out of their head.”
