National Urban League: House Passage of Crown Act Brings the Nation a Step Closer to Ending an Insidious Form of Racial Discrimination

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2022) – National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial today said passage of the CROWN Act is a long overdue recognition of the injustice inflicted by racially-biased grooming codes in the workplace.

“Policies that ban textured hair in its natural state or in protective styles that are essential for healthy hair maintenance, inflict immeasurable economic and psychic harm, especially on people of African or Latin descent,” Morial said. “It’s long past time that we as a nation recognize and rectify the injustice of these policies.”

The National Urban League is proud to be a founding member of the CROWN Coalition, an alliance of organizations, including founding members Dove, Color of Change and Western Center on Law and Poverty, that are all working to create a more equitable and inclusive experience for people of color through the advancement of anti-hair discrimination legislation, commonly known as the CROWN Act.  More than a dozen states have passed versions of the Crown Act.

Morial thanked Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who sponsored the bill, for her leadership in the issue and called on the Senate to advance the legislation quickly.

“Hair discrimination belongs on the scrap heap of history,” Morial said. “Today’s vote is a step in the right direction, but now we need the Senate to act.”