Bill to make it illegal to discriminate against natural hair has been passed

A bill to make it illegal to discriminate against natural hair has been passed.

Known as the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair), it had made race-based hair discrimination unlawful in several states back in January 2019 after being introduced by California Senator Holly J. Mitchell.

"Until Congress is able to recognize that the quality of my work as an employee or student is based on what's inside my head and not how I choose to wear my hair, we will continue the state-by-state strategy to pass the CROWN Act in every state in our nation," Mitchell had previously told GMA.

But now the House of Representatives has passed legislation to make it a law in all states.

"It has been incredibly gratifying to witness the progress that Dove and the CROWN Coalition have made," Esi Eggleston Bracey, executive vice president and chief operating officer of North American beauty and personal care at Unilever, told InStyle in July. "Hair discrimination has impacted the Black community for far too long and the support and excitement over the CROWN Act lets us know that we are on the right path and making a difference."

According to the Crown Act's official website, "Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair" and 80% of black women have said like they feel forced to change their natural hair to adapt to their office environment.

Representative Ilhan Omar has since taken to Twitter to share her thoughts on the passing of the CROWN act, writing: "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"

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California Rep. Barbara Lee also tweeted about the monumental CROWN act, writing on Twitter: "Today the House passed @RepRichmond @RepMarciaFudge , @RepPressley & my bill to prohibit natural hair discrimination. No one should feel forced to change their natural hair. I've been rocking my crown for decades & everybody should feel empowered to rock theirs too. #CROWNAct."

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