The Crown Act, a bill that makes hair-based discrimination illegal, just passed in Nevada, making it the 12th state to ratify the law.
The movement to combat hair-based discrimination is led by the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Coalition. In many professional settings, Black women are especially penalized for wearing their hair in natural or specialized styles, but the Crown Act protects them from this. Hair-based discrimination is a racist prejudice that stems from a Eurocentric beauty standard, and it has no place in the workplace. Or anywhere, for that matter.
The Crown Act posted to its official IG page, “Victory! Nevada officially becomes the 12th State to sign the #CROWNAct! 👑 A big thank you goes to Senator @DinaNeal and all the amazing people who worked tirelessly on championing this bill. Your work does not go unnoticed! We are one step closer to ending race-based #hairdiscrimination nationwide! Joins [sic] us, learn more about our movement and sign the petition at thecrownact.com.”
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A national Crown Act law stalled in the Senate after originally passing in the House of Representatives last September. At that time, Representative Ilhan Omar explained why she supported the bill, writing on Twitter, “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.”
A state-by-state approach to passing the Crown Act has been rather successful. Nevada joins other states including Nebraska, California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Delaware, and Connecticut in passing their own versions of the bill, proving that progress is possible. Let's keep the momentum going by signing the petition. And for more information on the Crown Act, read Glamour's September 2020 cover story.
