The Crown Act

One year after The Crown Act was passed in California, Black women can still be fired over the way they wear their hair in a majority of states. 

Presently, Black women who go into work with their hair worn just as it grows from their heads, or in protective styles like braids, locs, and knots, can still lose their jobs or be sent home from school. That's what The Crown Act, an vital piece of legislation created by the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Coalition, is fighting against—and it's starting to make headway.

Black women were 50% more likely to report being sent home or know of a Black woman who was sent home from the workplace because of their hair.

However, on July 3, 2019, California became the first state to sign The Crown Act into law, prohibiting discrimination against natural hair and protective styles in schools and workplaces. On top of that, The Crown Coalition is now declaring July 3 as National Crown Day—also known as Black Hair Independence Day—which will be a day of solidarity for the human rights of Black men, women, and children to wear their hair boldly and proudly without fear.

On July 3, 2020, a new law went into effect banning discrimination based on someone's hair – specifically saying employers and schools can't discriminate against workers or students for having braids, locks, and twists.

Earlier this year, two Black students were suspended from a Texas high school and could not return to school unless they cut their dreadlocks – the first was also told he could not walk at graduation because of his hair. There have been similar stories around the country. California, New York, and New Jersey have already passed laws like this and 13 other states are reportedly looking into it, too.