The Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act, more commonly known as the CROWN Act, went into effect in the state of Texas on September 1. The new passing will enforce unwavering protection against discrimination in the workplace and public schools based on natural “race-based” hairstyles like twists, braids, Afros, and locs.
“He’s asking me, ‘Can I touch your hair?’ and I’m thinking, ‘That is really not going to be a good thing to do because we are right here; you do not want to touch my hair,’” Bowers recalled the incident. “And he laughed, and that was the other thing — some of it, to some people, was a joke, and I had to make them understand that it was about more than hair, that it was about acceptance, really.”
Through Bower’s unwavering determination, the Texas Legislature finally passed the CROWN Act back in May of this year with “overwhelming bipartisan support.”
Bowers told The Texas Standard she believes the new law will be an incredibly positive force for affected people.
“It would impact men, women, and children … whether it was in the classroom and children were being kept from instruction because of their hair and looked at as a distraction — because of the style they are wearing their hair in — or people on a job being held [back] from promotion because they are choosing to wear their hair in braids,” Bowers told the outlet.
Currently, on her natural hair journey, LaToya Gadson is happy it passed.
“I think it’s crazy because, of course, it’s hair that we were born with, right? And the norm is having straight hair,” Gadson expressed. “And now, it’s embracing … this is who I am.”
Her stylist, Aliyah Hale, agreed with the sentiment. “For me, it’s providing ease to Black women in particular. Because, for us, I feel like everything is hard,” Hale said. “It’s a time saver, it’s convenient, it makes people feel more confident and beautiful.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
