California Passes C.R.O.W.N. Act and Bans Black Hair Discrimination

Hair By Akoni supports the championing state of California as the first state to pass the CROWN Act. Crown stands for Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair.

Introduced by Senator Holly J. Mitchell, This law amends California's anti-discrimination statute, the California Fair Housing and Employment Act ("FEHA"). The law modified FEHA's definition of "race" to expressly include "traits hiostorically associated with one's race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles.

Protective hairstyles are those that allow the wearer to avoid regular and harmful hair treatment, such as hair relaxers, and include cornrows, braids, and locs.

New York is the second state to affectively pass this law, as signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo; and there is speculation that New Jersey will be the third.

CROWN comes from the Crown Alliance which consists of the National Urban League, Western Center on Law and Poverty, Color of Change, and Dove.

Get involved at Dove and sign a petition. You can even download a prewritten letter to send to your respective congressional representative.