(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania will soon join the ranks of dozens of states where hairstyles are protected from discrimination.
The shift comes after decades in which natural and protective hairstyles like braids and locs for people of color have been prohibited in workplaces and schools both public and private.
Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to sign the PA CROWN Act into law Thursday, marking a first for its sponsor, Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Pittsburgh. It was also sponsored by and House Speaker Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia. Both women are style icons in the legislature.
“Like many other Black women, I have felt pressured to wear my hair a certain way to meet someone else’s expectations,” said McClinton. “It isn’t fair, and it isn’t right. Now, when the CROWN Act becomes law, hair discrimination will be against the law in Pennsylvania.”
In the past, schools and employers have discouraged and even banned specific hairstyles and lengths without consideration for cultural and religious norms or hair health. Even allowing an afro to grow naturally has, in many settings, been prohibited. The restrictions have forced many Black women to forego natural hair for styles and textures worn by white women.
“I am so thrilled that my legislation to end race-based hair discrimination has passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support,” said Mayes. “The CROWN Act has been a longtime fight toward the overall goal of ending this insidious discrimination in our commonwealth that has impacted the lives and livelihoods of students, workers and Pennsylvania residents simply because of how their hair grows out of their head.”
It took four sessions for the bill to make it through both the House and Senate. CROWN stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair and is part of a nationwide organizing effort. A similar bill has also been introduced in Congress.
“For nearly eight consecutive years, I have worked tirelessly with leaders across the country to change laws as well as culture, and mitigate the psychological, economic, and physical harm caused by race-based hair discrimination,” said Dr. Adjoa B. Asamoah, who has led the push for CROWN laws. “Grooming policies that reinforce Eurocentric standards of beauty and professionalism perpetuate exclusion and racial inequity.”
The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
“This is a victory for everyone who joined our movement for a more equitable commonwealth where everyone is respected, treated with dignity, and can be their authentic self,” said McClinton. “It is a victory for anyone who has felt out of place, unwelcome or discriminated against because of their hair style or texture. Now we can wear our crowns with pride, and our children will grow up in a much better Pennsylvania.”
