Now this is what we call action!
The coalition behind the historic CROWN Act, aimed at banning hair discrimination in the workplace, is now expanding their efforts to aid in the fight against all forms of racial discrimination.
In 2019, a Black beauty alliance was formed with the goal of “creating a respectful and open world for natural hair.” Dove teamed up with the National Urban League, Color of Change, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty to form the CROWN Coalition and help push legislation that would prevent employers and schools from discriminating against a person based on their natural hairstyle. A 2019 “Crown Research Study” conducted by Dove showed that more than 80% of Black women said they felt they need to change their natural hair to fit in with social norms at work, were nearly twice as likely to be sent home because of their hair, and when compared with white women with the exact same hairstyle, were considered less “job ready.”
These statistics were used to push the passing of the CROWN act, protecting Black women and girls’ right to wear their natural hair, with California becoming the first state to adopt the new law. Since then, 7 states and 2 municipalities have adopted the law with almost two dozen more states on board to review the bill in upcoming legislation. The coalition has also grown tremendously in size and scope, with 65 members dedicated to eradicating systemic racism, including the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and several chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Now the coalition is making a call for people to join their fight in advocating for legislation around four key areas; reducing systemic bias and discrimination, re-imagining public safety, dismantling voter suppression, and driving economic equity. In a statement, the coalition detailed its focus as “[outlawing] race-based hair discrimination, [embarking] on a community-level advocacy agenda to advance legislation around multiple facets of public safety, [ensuring] Black voters have safe and fair access to cast their vote, and [driving economic equity by amplifying] the work SheaMoisture is doing to invest in Black entrepreneurs and Black women.”
“Our country is in crisis. At this moment, there is a need to eliminate race discrimination and advocate for equity for all people in our country. Our efforts are grounded in a deep desire for racial equity, and our work will now expand to focus on fighting against all forms of racial discrimination, in addition to hair discrimination. Progress in the fight against institutionalized racism and systems of oppression comes with protections under the law,” The CROWN Coalition said in a statement.
To help support The Crown Coalition to end racism, sign up at www.crowncoalition.com. You can also learn more about their efforts and take the pledge at dove.com/Crown.
This is a great effort, we hope more companies follow suit!
Photo Courtesy of DOVE