On Tuesday, Dove and the CROWN Coalition celebrated a new milestone in the fight against hair discrimination when the United States House of Representatives passed the CROWN Act. The federal bill is now one step closer to becoming a law — it’s now advancing to the Senate.
The legislation was introduced to Congress nine months ago, and Congressman Cedric Richmond of Louisiana has led the charge on pushing the bill through. The inaugural CROWN Act penned by Senator Holly J. Mitchell was first signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom back in 2019. Since then, only a handful of states had passed the law, including New York, New Jersey and Virginia. But by the end of 2019, then presidential hopeful, Cory Booker had been pushing to have the bill taken to the federal level.
“As a co-founder of the CROWN Coalition, Dove is proud of the progress we’ve made to make race-based hair discrimination illegal to ensure Black children and adults are free to wear our natural hair styles in every school and work place in America,” said Esi Eggleston Bracey, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever North America. “We’re celebrating its passing in the House of Representatives and the seven states that have enacted the CROWN Act since we started this journey in 2018. We applaud Congressman Cedric Richmond and the U.S. House of Representatives for taking this action.”
This fall, as parents across the country worried about whether or not their children would be going back to in-school learning for safety reasons, several Black parents were concerned with whether or not their children would be allowed back in school because of their hair. Just this past June, Texas teen K.J. Hooper joined the many Black graduates who were told they had to cover or cut their textured or natural hair in order to participate in their graduation ceremony. This is why passing the CROWN Act in the Senate is crucial.
The fight against hair discrimination is an important part of the fight for racial equality. And as it continues, the CROWN coalition will also continue its work and asks the community to sign the petition to put pressure on the Senate to act.
“Racial discrimination in the form of hair discrimination has directly and negatively impacted Black people in the workplace and schools for far too long,” said Congressman Richmond in a statement. “Now that the House has acted, it is time for the Senate to demonstrate leadership and swiftly pass this critical legislation. Our nation must right this wrong and ensure that no Black child or adult ever lives in fear of discrimination simply because of their hair texture or style.”