The House of Representatives passed the CROWN Act, a bill that ensues hair traits relating to ethnicity, protecting people at work and school. So for all the beautiful and handsome African-American kings and queens, we can still be ourselves at work and school without anyone judging us. The House of Judiciary announced on Twitter Monday, stating that the #CROWNAct will prohibit discrimination of natural hair as a form of race or ethnicity. Rep. Illhan Omar has spoken on social media, and this is what she had to say:
“For far too long, Black Women have been penalized for simply existing as themselves-that ends today. The House just passed the CROWN Act to end hair discrimination. This passage is long overdue, but an important step forward to combat racial discrimination.”
The hair discrimination gained national attention last summer when the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Coalition set out ban intolerance based on style, type, and texture. The Act was first introduced in January of 2019 by California State Senator Holly Mitchell. Incidents have happened to kids as young as eleven, where employers or schools wouldn’t accept difference. Virginia became the fourth state to pass the CROWN Act, followed by California, New York, and New Jersey. Several days later, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the CROWN Act into law, making it the fifth state. The Act was recognized at the Academy Awards last year during the acceptance speech by Matthew A. Cherry for ‘Hair Love’ which won an Oscar for best animated short.
