Rep. Watson Coleman: Hair Discrimination Is Racial Discrimination. It’s Time We Put an End to It.
By Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
Before high school wrestler Andrew Johnson could begin his match, the referee demanded that he either cut his natural hair or forfeit. Moments before he would have been forced to forfeit the match he’d worked so hard to prepare for, Johnson cut off his locs, sacrificing a piece of his identity to compete in the sport he loved.
Whether in sports, at school, or in the workplace, no one should have to make that choice. Shortly after that incident, New Jersey passed the CROWN Act, which banned discrimination against hairstyles associated with a particular race or national origin.
Johnson’s story took place not in 1960, 1970, or even 1980, but in 2018. Until 2019, a mere five years ago, it was legal in the state of New Jersey to discriminate against Black people because of the way their hair naturally grows out of their heads. To this day, that practice is still legal at the federal level.
What happened to Andrew Johnson was not an isolated incident. This school year, Texas high school junior Darryl George has been spending his days in a mix of in-school suspension and at an alternative education campus, separated from his classmates — all because he wears his hair in locs.
Across the nation, Black people, especially Black women, continue to face discrimination for simply existing as their natural selves. Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from work or know someone who was sent home because of their natural hair. They are also 80% more likely to alter their natural hair to meet office norms or expectations.
Discrimination against Black hair is functionally no different than discrimination against Black skin, and that is unacceptable. Called to action by the experiences of Andrew Johnson, Darryl George, and countless others, I have reintroduced the CROWN Act to ban hair discrimination at the federal level.
My bill is both rooted in racial justice and popular with a majority of voters. A new survey by Data for Progress finds that a +23-point margin of likely voters support the CROWN Act, including a +55-point margin of Democrats and a +27-point margin of Independents.
The CROWN Act is also supported by a +42-point margin of voters under 45, a +57-point margin of Black voters, and a +17-point margin of voters in swing states.
As of today, 23 states and dozens of cities across the country have passed a version of the CROWN Act. While many of the first states to do so, including my home state, are so-called “blue states,” support for the bill now stretches from California to Tennessee and across the political spectrum.
Passage at the state level is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. In the 27 states where the CROWN Act is not yet law, Black people can still legally be fired, sent home from school, or discriminated against because of the way their hair naturally grows.
Although Senate Republicans blocked the CROWN Act in 2022, I remain undeterred by their decision to stand in the way of progress. I am as committed to ending hair discrimination today as I was on the day I first introduced my bill, if not more so. My bill presents an opportunity for members of Congress to reject the current climate of hyperpartisanship and instead stand united against racial discrimination.
In the year 2024, something as simple as opposing racism should not be controversial. It is long past time Congress passed the CROWN Act and protected the right of all Americans to exist as their authentic selves.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) represents New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.