The Crown Act stalls in NC, and in Congress
By Cash Michaels
If Black women in North Carolina want the right to wear their natural hair in any cultural style and condition that they please, they are going to have to fight for it at the General Assembly.
That’s where the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act has stalled in passage for the past several years, thanks to the Republican majority who apparently objects to African American hairstyles that don’t fit their idea of good grooming. Advocates say the ability to wear one’s hair in a type and style of one’s choosing is a civil right and should be protected.
There have been stories of workers, and even children, made to return home because a supervisor or administrator objected to their cultural hairstyle.
State Sen. Kandie Smith (D-Edgecome, Pitt) was the sponsor of the CROWN Act at the General Assembly in February 2021 (HB 170) when she served as a two-term representative prior to being elected to the state Senate.
The bill read:
Enacts new GS 95-28.1 prohibiting any person, firm, corporation, unincorporated association, State agency, local government, or any other public or private entity from denying or refusing employment to any person, or discharging any person from employment, because of traits historically associated with race or on account of the person's hair texture or protective hairstyles (including, but not limited to, bantu knots, braids, locks, and twists). Defines race as including traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles. Specifies that this statute does not prevent a person from being discharged for cause.
Smith’s bill failed passage there, as well as in the state Senate, but she vows that she’s not finished advocating for this basic Black woman’s right.
“Passing the CROWN Act in North Carolina was one of my main priorities while serving in the House of Representatives last session, and it will remain one as I begin my first term in the North Carolina Senate,” Sen. Smith said in a statement to this reporter.
“In my experience, the main obstacle we faced in our efforts to pass the CROWN Act was simply that many of my colleagues, particularly my Republican colleagues, just didn’t understand why a bill like this was necessary. A piece of legislation like the CROWN Act would be transformational to the lives and experiences of all North Carolinians, and it would be a major win for the economic and business climate of our state as well.”
Sen. Smith continued, “Over the past year, I have continued to try and educate my colleagues about the necessity of passing the CROWN Act in North Carolina, and I am hopeful that during this upcoming legislative session we will be able to make further progress on this important issue.”
If Sen. Smith does find a way to convince North Carolina Republicans to support passage of the CROWN Act, she would do well to share that secret with Sen. Cory Booker (D- NJ) in the United States Senate. Booker sponsored passage of the CROWN Act there after the US House passed the measure (H.R. 2116) in March 2022, only to have conservative Senator Rand Paul (Ky) block passage in the Senate.
As of last year, 18 states, led by California which codified the law first, have the CROWN Act on the books.
The other 17 states include New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, New Mexico, Nevada, Nebraska, Oregon, Illinois, Maine, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands (Territory).
Whether North Carolina will join the ranks is not clear, especially with Republican lawmakers vowing to oppose anything they consider “woke.”
The same can be said about the CROWN Act’s chances in the U.S. Senate.
“It saddens and angers me that, in the year 2022, something as simple as opposing racial discrimination has become controversial, stated Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) after Senate Republicans used the filibuster to block passage. “My colleagues across the aisle were presented with an opportunity to stand united against discrimination. They chose instead to give in to the climate of division and hyper-partisanship.”
Maryland Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley was just as resolute.
“That Republicans would block passage of the CROWN Act in the Senate is unconscionable, but unsurprising given their blatant disregard for civil rights and contempt for Black, brown, and marginalized communities,” said Rep. Pressley. “Black hair is beautiful, and no amount of racism or ignorance from the other side of the aisle will stop the power of our movement. I won’t stop pressing to ban race-based hair discrimination and I urge the Senate to use any legislative avenue to pass this critical bill and send it to President Biden’s desk.”
