Colorado has become the latest state to ban natural hair discrimination.
The Denver Post reported Gov. Jared Polis signed the CROWN Act, which stands for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, into law Friday evening.
The law "specifies that, for purposes of anti-discrimination laws in the context of public education, employment practices, housing, public accommodations, and advertising, protections against discrimination on the basis of one's race, hair texture, hair type, or a protective hairstyle commonly or historically associated with race, such as braids, locs, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, Bantu knots, Afros, and headwraps," according to the bill page on the Colorado General Assembly website.
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"When we look at how we can end societal, legal discrimination against marginalized communities, especially communities of color, it's important to know that discriminating against people's hair has often been a stand-in for discriminating against their race," Polis said at the signing of House Bill 1048, according to 9NEWS. "We're proud to say that today that will no longer occur in the State of Colorado."
House Bill 1048 was signed at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, a studio and performing arts school based in African American traditions, the Post reported.
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The law shares its name with the CROWN Coalition, which was co-founded by Dove along with the National Urban League, Color Of Change, and Western Center on Law and Poverty.
“The CROWN Act will right a decades-long wrong: forcing people across the ethnic spectrum to make their hair look and feel a certain way to succeed,” Representative Leslie Herod (D) Denver, one of the bill’s sponsors, said. “This bill is for every person who has damaged their hair with a relaxer or burnt their scalp with a hot comb, for those who have spent countless hours and dollars to conform to eurocentric beauty standards. Everyone should be their true beautiful selves, feel proud of their culture and heritage, and be celebrated for their self-expression.”
The signing of the bill makes Colorado the fifth state to pass the CROWN Act, behind California, New York, New Jersey and Virginia.
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