The Crown Act Passed Now It’s Time For Policy Changes in Work, Schools, and Sports
Policies and culture need to align with the #CrownAct and end #hairdiscrimination and humiliation
I was told as a child, that the hair that God gave me needed to be tamed to be acceptable in school and society. Yet, even as a small child I knew it was wrong.
Updated April 7, 2022
Another child has been humiliated and traumatized by race-based #hair discrimination at a public sporting event. This needs to stop now!
If you have a child, please reach out to your child’s school council or district to find out how they have changed and updated policies to align with the #Crown Act.
On March 25, 2022, The Crown Act passed the House and I’m very happy, but it feels like a bittersweet victory. As a 40+-year-old African American woman, my hair has always been a source of pride, joy, pain, and confusion. The Crown Act evokes the same feelings. I am proud but ashamed we had to fight for the right and protection to wear our hair in its natural state or in healthy, protective and culturally inspired styles like braids, locs, twists, etc.
The CROWN Act stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair and according to Damare Baker, from the Washingtonian,
“was created in 2018 by four Black women: Esi Eggleston Bracey, Unilever’s chief operating officer and executive vice president of beauty and personal care; Kelli Richardson Lawson, the founder and CEO of DC marketing firm JOY Collective; Orlena Nwokah Blanchard, JOY Collective’s President, and chief operating officer; and social impact and legislative strategist Adjoa B. Asmoah” (Baker, 2022)
