The CROWN act, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural hair”, is expected to be signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom, making the state the first ever to ban discrimination based on hair style. Hair styles included in the bill sent to the governor include Afros, braids, twists, and locks.
“ The history of our nation is riddled with laws and societal norms that equated ‘blackness’ and the associated physical traits, for example, dark skin, kinky and curly hair to a badge of inferiority, sometimes subject to separate and unequal treatment,” the bill specifies.
According to a press release, the bill was introduced by Senator Holly J. Mitchell, and co-founded by Dove to make sure that “traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture ad hairstyle, be protected from discrimination from the work place and in our K-12 public and charter schools.”
The bill also addresses the shortcomings of federal law for only protecting people of color from discrimination against afros but not other styles. For quite some time now, beauty standards in the US have been riddled with racial undertones often favoring Eurocentric traits.
It also states, “ Despite the great strides American society and laws have made to reverse the racist ideology that Black traits are inferior, hair remains a rampant source of racial discrimination with serious economic and health consequences especially for Black individuals.”
The bill also addresses the fact that professionalism is unfairly associated with white characteristics. “The idea also permeated societal understanding of professionalism. Professionalism was, and still is, closely linked to European features and mannerisms, which entails that those who do not naturally fall into Eurocentric norms must alter their appearances, sometimes drastically and permanently, in order to be deemed professional.”
Senator Mitchell reported she has received numerous accounts of people who have been discriminated upon for how they wear their hair. “ The sheer volume of women and men and parents of students who have been sent home because someone deems their braids, twists, or locks were inappropriate for workplace settings, the sheer volume of people, suggests this clearly is a law whose time has come,” she stressed.
“The Good Hair Study,” a study released in 2017 showed an overwhelming bias versus black women who wear their hair natural. It was conducted by the Perception Institute, a group of researchers, strategists, and advocates, who conduct emotional and psychological research to identify and reduce bias. It partnered with a black owned beauty brand, SheaMoisture. It showed over 4,000 participants rapidly-changing pictures of black women with smooth and natural hair, along with word associations for both.
The results were convincing…majority of the participants, regardless of race, showed an implicit bias against black women’s textured hair. Textured hair rated less beautiful and less professional than smooth hair.
New York and New Jersey are following the lead of California…proposing similar legislation. In February New York enacted a policy protecting cornrows, afros, fades, and other hairstyles. New York’s Commission of Human Rights mentioned the black hairstyles are protected racial characteristics under the New York City Human Rights Law.
It is about time. Hopefully other states will follow in California’s footsteps.
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