How The CROWN Act Is Changing Natural Hair

​July 3rd was recently declared CROWN day, in celebration of the CROWN Act - a legal breakthrough that protects natural hair.

​Here's what you need to know.

What is National CROWN Day?

It's the celebration of the 1-year anniversary of the CROWN Act being signed into law.  The law was first passed in California, on July 3rd 2019 by governor Gavin Newsom, and has subsequently become law in 6 other states.

The date to mark this turning point on July 3rd was recently declared by The CROWN Coalition, a US based alliance of civil society groups and beauty manufacturers that fights against hair-related racial discrimination and other forms of racism.

Before the CROWN Act it was legal to discriminate against Black people based on their hair texture. Image by Amanda Cardoso.

​What is the CROWN Act?

The CROWN Act is a law that makes race-based hair discrimination illegal. Under the law, race-based hair discrimination is defined as the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or for wearing protective hairstyles like braids or locs.

​The legislation was the brainchild of the CROWN Coalition, an alliance of organisations founded by the National Urban League, Western Center on Law & Poverty, beauty brand Dove and Color Of Change, specifically to tackle this form of discrimination. The Coalition campaigns to change legislation to beat this insidious form of racism and on changing the narrative around hair texture on the ground.

The acronym CROWN originally stood  for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” but since the recent growth of the Black Lives Matter movement the CROWN Coalition has decided to expand its work from racism expressed against natural hair to tackling wider forms of racist injustice. So CROWN now stands for " Creating a Respectful and Open World with No Racism."

The CROWN Act being signed into law in California on July 3, 2019. Image by JOY Collective.

​How do I celebrate CROWN Day?

To mark National CROWN day, the CROWN Coalition is calling on  the Black community and its allies to share the #PassTheCrown hashtag to raise awareness of this form of racist discrimination, and the legal measure that can combat it.

​If you're based in one of the 50 states, they're also inviting you to sign the online petition to ban discrimination against natural hair, and  send a letter or email to legislators in states that have not yet passed The CROWN Act.

At DHA's DIY, we like to add to the celebrations by extending a special discount to our readers: just enter the code CROWNDAYJULY ​to get 15% off your favourite Dominican conditioners and all products store wide. 

Why is the CROWN Act necessary?

Though most countries have anti-discrimination laws in place, historically, it has been possible for employers and even schools to instate "race neutral" policies about hair that unfairly discriminate against Black people and also affect others with naturally curly textures.

​By forbidding certain protective styles like locs, braids, twists, or knots - cultural grooming methods that have been handed down the generations and tend to be the optimal forms of grooming for  textured hair - these rules largely impacted Black people.

Under the CROWN Act, locs and other natural hairstyles are legally protected. Image by Kevin Bidwell.

​​The CROWN Act enshrines in law that hair type is a racial characteristic as much as skin colour and thus protected under law.

​Progress came a little late for people like Andrew Johnson, the teenager forced by a referee to cut off his locs in front of a crowd in order to take part in a school wrestling match. Or for the many others who have lost jobs, job opportunities, and education - not to mention been turned away from the doors of countless businesses just because of their hair.

This law - which has now been passed in New Jersey, where the unfortunate loc cutting incident took place - aims to put an end to these shameful practices, and  builds upon the work that has been done for decades by activists to rid school and work environments of this pernicious form of racial discrimination.

​It's a victory for all who have been forced to cut their hair, chemically alter it with products that burned their scalp and affected their health in other ways, and those who've been made to think they must wear uncomfortable, damaging hairstyles to fit in with a mainstream idea of what hair should look like.  Especially when that mainstream idea that's purposely skewed away from people that look like them.

Why the CROWN Act is important

The passing of this law also has a symbolic impact. Not only does it have strict legal implications in the 7 states where it applies, it resonates across the US and worldwide.

Cases of hair-based race discrimination have been reported across the world, from the Dominican Republic, to the United Kingdom and South Africa. It unfortunately reflects the underlying structure of racism that still taints societies worldwide.  Discriminating against the hair that naturally grows from a person's head is just one more way to signal to people that they are not deserving of full, true equality.

​By addressing and opposing racism in this guise, this piece of legislation is a beacon to all who have been affected by or who are campaigning against racism, especially in its subtler, but still toxic forms.

​When we recognise and call it out, we're all one step closer to eradicating it.
​

Which states have the CROWN Act?

The CROWN Act is law in California, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, Washington and Maryland, as well as in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Montgomery County, Maryland.
​
It's also at various stages of the legislative process in Delaware, Illinois, Massachussetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

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