Written by Ladosha Wright
The CROWN Act has been dominating the airwaves and community round table discussions for quite some time. The goal of the CROWN Act was to create a law protecting natural hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists, coils, protective hairstyles, and knots from discrimination in the workplace and school. But as it stands, the CROWN Act appears to be not enforceable in the states where the bill has passed.
As a self-professed outlier turned activist in the world of cosmetology, both the natural hair world and the structure of the CROWN Act perplexes me. So, on February 22nd of 2024 the Texas State Judge Chap Cain III ruled, “the Barbers Hill Independent School District’s dress and grooming policies do not violate the CROWN Act.” I was not surprised. That validated my claircognizance. In other words, I knew it all along. Despite all its attention, popularity, praise, and glory, the CROWN Act is a joke in the American world of law. So, now the challenge is to find what could increase the likelihood of the CROWN Act being enforceable?
Photo of Ladosha Wright used with permission
As it stands, Ohio recently increased the 25 states to have passed the CROWN Act bill to 26. Ohio State Representatives, Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) and Paula Hick-Hudson (D-Toledo) joined the ranks on Tuesday, June 6th. Their House Bill 178 passed out of the Ohio House Civil Justice Committee with a 9-3 vote. According, to the Columbus Dispatch, “This is a significant move in combating prejudice and aims to prohibit discrimination based on natural hair.”
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A little more digging, my investigation led me to the West Coast in San Diego, California. The home of the Black Panthers and headquarters to the late legend of Black hair science, innovation, and curator of Afro hair history, Dr. Willie Morrow. But of course! There, I discussed this matter with none other than his daughter, Cheryl Morrow. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the SD Monitor News and Heiress to the California Curl empire. Cheryl already to the liberty to re-write the CROWN Act. She affectionately named it CROWNED (Creating a Rational and Objective World that Nurtures and Endorses Differences) Act 2.0.
Ms. Morrow sees the issues of protecting natural hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists, coils, protective hairstyles, and knots dress codes differently. Her revision is not about protecting cultural styling, “but a proposal that challenges the status quo, the era that created codes of dress, which limit the First Amendment rights of the U.S. Populations of 2024 – it’s about reimagining the very fabric of our society.”
She sees hope for both students/employees and schools/workplaces. Suspensions, firings, violations, and cultural insensitivities could be outdated. She recommends a happy medium where both could fulfill dress codes and freedom of expression. The first way is via what she identifies as the, “While at Work (WAW)” hair qualification and “While at School (WAS) qualification. Ms. Morrow concluded, both “metrics meet the company’s requirements without infringing upon the employee’s general total day of living, thus preventing an unfair burden.”
My investigation finds Ms. Morrow’s perspective more aligned with the recognition of natural hair styles under the First Amendment while recognizing SCOTUS’ rulings on free enterprise for personal business and dress codes for schools.
The Y2K natural hair movement created a special space with extraordinarily little recognition of those who paved the way before them. By default, their movement manipulated the minds of millions of Black folks with textured hair. They had duped everyone who was Black with Afro textured hair into vying to be on the side of the coveted “natural.” Hidden under the cloaks of “protective,” “natural,” and classifying hair with letter and numbers, a new citizenry of men, women, and children were blocked from their authentic selves; in a quest to have the esteemed “’natural” hair. Their cunning rhetoric duped a vast number of scholars, clergy, doctors, and yes even attorneys. Confusing persuasion and manipulation with curiosity, off they went down the rabbit hole. Will they wake up or keep chasing the allegorical hare?
Based off my observations over the years and working in the hair salon, I have become more steadfast in my activism. Even though I continue to remain skeptical about the CROWN Act, I still support it and give it an E for effort.
I sincerely believe they are doing their best to protect the crown. However, in order to increase the likelihood of a bill that can be enforceable, I suggest a meeting of the minds with the likes of Cheryl Morrow to prevent the CROWN from an act of abdication.
About the author: Ladosha Wright is the author of best-selling children’s books “Curly Hair Adventures” and “What They Don’t Tell You at the Hair Salon.” and the owner of The Reverence Design Team Hair Salon in Cleveland Heights.