As of March 18th, 2022, the House has passed the CROWN Act, also known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act. The new bill will address the underlining works of systemic racism, where Black women and men are forced to change their natural hair to fit in. Several states, such as Massachusetts, have implemented their versions of the act, but it will be mandatory across the country if passed in the Senate.
Furthermore, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J, who introduced the bill, spoke to the House Floor describing how there are people “who think because your hair is kinky, it is braided, it is in knots, or it is not straight and blonde and light brown, that you somehow are not worthy of access to those issues.” This new initiative is establishing a future for children of color not to be ashamed of who they are and to embrace their natural hair for what it is. On the other hand, it is unfortunate it took a bill to be introduced for society to see the “norm” of hair is, in reality, can be used as a form of discrimination.
The Biden administration has stated their strong support for this bill. Although with Biden’s support, the bill has some pushback from Republican leaders. Republic representatives such as Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio failed to see the bill’s importance in changing how institutionalized racism is embedded in our society. Republicans rather focus on issues such as inflation and gas prices.
This blog post is part of the CIMA law group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA law group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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