Inside a West Philadelphia hair salon Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a law solidifying protections against hair discrimination in the state.
The CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” prohibits discrimination based on a person’s hairstyle, type or texture. Pennsylvania is the 28th state to pass a version of the CROWN Act.
Shapiro signed the legislation at the Island Design Natural Hair Studio, which specializes in creating and caring for natural hairstyles.
“This is a place where the community gets nurtured, and folks get to walk in and walk out looking and feeling their absolute best,” Shapiro said. {snip}
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U.S. Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, a West Philadelphia native who now represents parts of Pittsburgh, was the lead sponsor on the bill and said the fight will help improve lives across Pennsylvania.
“Hair discrimination has taken confidence from our children, but that ends today,” Mayes said. “Hair discrimination has taken dignity from workers, but that ends today. It has taken access to economic opportunities, hopes and dreams, but that begins to end today.”
The law bans discrimination in the workplace or schools based on someone’s natural hairstyle or texture. Protected hairstyles include locs, braids, twists, afros and more.
“They will not look at your hair and say you cannot work here. They will not look at your hair and say you do not belong,” McClinton said.
According to the governor, in 2022 more than 900 complaints of racial discrimination based on hair were made to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
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The post Gov. Shapiro Signs CROWN Act Into Law in Pennsylvania appeared first on American Renaissance.
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