*On July 12, 2019, New York became the second state after California to sign The CROWN Act – which stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair” – and the first to put the law into effect statewide. On Tuesday, July 21, 2020, Dove and the CROWN Coalition will celebrate the anniversary of this historic triumph with a 90-minute virtual event. Save the date and watch right here, beginning at 2 p.m.
The CROWN Act prohibits race-based hair discrimination, which is the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists or bantu knots.
On the heels of a successful celebration of the July 3rd inaugural National CROWN Day, the CROWN Coalition will continue to commemorate the historic legislation that bans race-based hair discrimination in the work place and K-12 public and charter schools.
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed The CROWN Act into law in the state of New York on July 12, 2019, deeming the legislation effective immediately. New Jersey was the third state to enact The CROWN Act in 2019 when Governor Phil Murphy signed it into law on Dec. 19, 2019, on the one-year anniversary of the wrestling match where New Jersey high school wrestler Andrew Johnson’s locs were forcibly cut off.
The CROWN Act is law in 7 states (CA, NY, NJ, VA, CO, WA, MD) and 2 municipalities (Cincinnati, OH and Montgomery County, MD). Nine (9) additional states are considering the CROWN Act and have either pre-filed, filed or formally stated an intent to introduce their own anti-hair discrimination bills, including Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
Below, watch the story of how they’ve been moving the needle nationwide to end hair discrimination.
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