Petition: Pass the CROWN Act to Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair

The way you choose to wear your hair is a personal choice. It may depend on your culture and community, your identity, and the texture of your hair. Unfortunately, policies against how people can wear their hair are legal in 46 U.S. states and most of those policies discriminate against black people.

Last December, a high school in Texas told a student named DeAndre Arnold that if he did not cut his dreadlocks, he would not be allowed to attend senior prom or walk at graduation. The school has a dress code policy against boys having hair longer than their earlobes, but DeAndre put it up to comply and never had a problem until right before winter break. DeAndre’s dreadlocks tie him to his Trinidadian heritage; however, even if his dreadlocks were only about looks, comfort, or self-identity, DeAndre should still be allowed to keep them. His school’s ultimatum is discriminatory, but the school district stands by its decision. In 2019, Brittany Noble was fired from her job as a news anchor for WJTV, after starting to wear her natural hair. Her boss told her that her “natural hair is unprofessional and the equivalent to him throwing on a baseball cap to go to the grocery store.”

There is nothing unprofessional about wearing one’s hair in a natural afro, dreadlocks, or braids. We need to fight against this blatant racism and demand protections for natural hairstyles. The Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN Act) has passed in seven states to protect people from discrimination based on hair. Sign this petition to urge the rest of the states to pass the CROWN Act!

To continue speaking up, sign these other petitions as well:

• Urge Congress to Pass the Maternal CARE Act
• End Medical Racism
• Demand end to racial discrimination during the hiring process

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