Understanding the Crown Act (Black Natural Hair Styles)

Join Ms. June for an informative and thought-provoking edition of Doing the Do in Business as we explore the history, purpose, and impact of the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair). 

This engaging discussion examines why the legislation was created, how it protects individuals from discrimination based on natural hair textures and protective hairstyles, and what employers, educators, and business leaders need to know to ensure compliance. We'll discuss the origins of the movement, notable legal cases, workplace policies, and the importance of embracing diversity and inclusion. 

Whether you're an entrepreneur, HR professional, educator, student, or community leader, this empowering podcast offers valuable insights into creating equitable workplaces where authenticity, respect, and opportunity flourish for everyone.

"Doing the Do" in Business
Hosted by Ms. June

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of Doin the Doin's Business. I'm your host, Miss June, and today I'm discussing a topic that sits at the intersection of business, civil rights, workplace, culture, diversity, inclusion, and last but not least, professionalism and personal identity. Today's topic is the Crown Act, and basically, what every employer, employee, entrepreneur, school administrator, and your human resource professionals and business owners, a few things they need to know about natural hair discrimination. Now I know sometimes, a lot of times, many times, many people, hair is simply hair. However, for many African Americans and other minorities, however, hair has been a source of discrimination, judgment, exclusion, discipline, and even job loss. Can you imagine being denied a job that you were completely qualified for, but you were denied employment because of your hairstyle? Can you imagine being a child being sent home from school because of your natural curls? Can you imagine being told that your braids, locks, twists, or even your afro, those hairstyles are unprofessional? Believe it or not, these situations have been happening for decades and are still occurring in America. So today I'm just gonna have a quick little discussion about the history behind the Crown Act, why it was created, who founded the movement, and then briefly what hairstyles are protected and how businesses need to comply. And then also take a little look, you know, really quick about what industries may have legitimate safety exemptions and give you some updates on, you know, a few lawsuits and real-world examples that brought national attention to this issue. So stay tuned because this conversation tends to affect many, many Americans. So before we go to a break and get you in position for this topic, what does the crown act stand for? C-R-O-W-N. The crown act stands for creating a respectful and open world for natural hair. The C is for creating, the R is for respectful, the O is for open, W is for world, and the N stands for natural hair. And basically, this was created to prevent and prohibit rather discrimination in the workplace or anywhere based upon hair texture and what they call protective styles. Today's show is sponsored by Small Black Business International magazine, celebrating entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic empowerment by highlighting businesses and business leaders from around the world. And also sponsored by Mitch Junes Gumbo and Greens, serving up Southern traditions, Cajun flavors, and culinary inspiration that brings people together one delicious resource at a time. So don't touch that dog. We're gonna come right back and we're gonna jump right to it.

SPEAKER_14 2:49

Imagine home. The smell of coffee, the sound of a lawnmower, the sun's warmth on your face. Free to be yourself, surrounded by love that helps you grow. This is a place to call home. That's an American dream we all deserve. But in 50% of U.S. states, you could legally be denied housing if you are LGBTQ. Get the facts and hear real stories at lovehasnowabels.com. Brought to you by Love Has No Labels and the Ad Council.

SPEAKER_13 3:19

What I know about courage is what I learned from my adoptive mom. She said sometimes you just gotta hold on. And no we'll get through this.

SPEAKER_11 3:27

Mom, we are so high up. Hold my hand. No, you hold my hand. Here we go.

SPEAKER_18 3:37

Learn about adopting a team from foster care. You can't imagine the reward. Visit adoptuskids.org to find out more.

SPEAKER_15 3:48

I learned patience from my adoptive dad.

SPEAKER_20 3:51

All he had to say was. Hey, you got this. Just breathe.

SPEAKER_19 4:00

Pretty good. You can't imagine the reward. Visit WSKids.org to find out more. This message is brought to you by Adobe US Kids, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Air Council.

SPEAKER_05 4:26

Before the complete break, we did a small intro about what we were talking about. And it prohibits discrimination in the workplace based upon yourself.

unknown 4:53

Most of the time, individuals that are claimed to be your minorities.

SPEAKER_05 4:58

So before we go into it, in order to understand the crown act, you must first understand from if you take a look at the fifth generation Americans who are precious with their hair to their hairstyles in order to be deceptive and out of control, but some braids.

unknown 5:23

And if someone from told, straighten your hair's job.

SPEAKER_05 5:48

But if you take a look, there is research.

unknown 6:01

And then you have some other extra parts that please. So how this happened?

SPEAKER_05 6:16

Well, the year was 2019, and there was a coalition that was formed. And this coalition was formed by some major players.

SPEAKER_06 6:54

But they want to keep out of the dress. And there was that from the gun with that. California stays in control.

unknown 7:19

Look at it, basis.

SPEAKER_05 7:40

That's a big problem. And so basically, this coalition they recognize that they were discrimination of laws and so law. But those laws are still natural.

SPEAKER_06 7:58

And what some of the African-American people are taken care of. And as a result of that, it's starting to find the policy for appearance where the brain is.

SPEAKER_05 8:14

So that's what we can do that is not that great. I didn't see that out there. So when it really boils down, we have now stayed at the ground at in July of 2019.

unknown 9:10

Now there are two bags.

SPEAKER_05 11:26

But the biggest message of the movement and the big takeaway is this, it's really simple. Black hair. Black hair is protection.

unknown 11:38

Now that crazy hair is the most strange clogs associated with the crown packages.

SPEAKER_05 11:48

And there are things that organizations have to do with in order to actually understand the crown acting. And then we have a conversation about the crown package. The natural hairstyle of my course. And um right now we will begin to have issues with the brown tag.

unknown 12:38

I also understand what hairstyle.

SPEAKER_02 16:23

Talking to them about gun safety in your home is a good first step, but you can do more. Always keep your guns locked, unloaded, and stored separately from ammunition. Safe gun storage saves lives. Learn how to make your home safer at nfamilyfire.org. That's nfamilyfire.org. Brought to you by nfamily fire, Brady and the ICASL.

SPEAKER_15 16:41

I learned patience from my adoptive dad.

SPEAKER_20 16:44

All he had to say was Hey, you got this. Just breathe. Hey.

SPEAKER_19 16:55

Might have to start a band.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

I got it.

SPEAKER_19 16:58

Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. You can't imagine the reward. Visit adoptuskids.org to find out more. This message is brought to you by Adopt U.S. Kids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council.

SPEAKER_10 17:12

The more you listen to your kids, the closer you'll be. So we asked kids, what do you want your parents to hear?

SPEAKER_04 17:20

I feel sometimes that I'm not listened to. I would just want you to listen to me more often and evaluate situations with me and lead me towards success.

SPEAKER_03 17:29

We're not adults, so just just be there and like listen. I just want someone to yap to. And I just feel like I'll be fine, like if someone just hears me talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk.

SPEAKER_04 17:42

You're doing a really good job. And I don't think I tell you that enough. And I know sometimes we can't insulate. It's just hard on both of us. But if I'm trying to understand me more, and I'll try to do the same.

SPEAKER_10 17:57

Listening is a form of love.

SPEAKER_09 17:59

Find resources to help you support your kids and their emotional well-being at sounditoutogether.org. That's sounditoutogether.org. Brought to you by the ad council and pivotal.

SPEAKER_05 18:12

Welcome back. If you've just joined us, you're inside doing the do in business with Miss June. And today we've been having an amazing presentation in regards to the Crown Act. And if you followed the news and taken a look at some of the things that are out there, the Crown Act exclusively focuses on the treatment of minorities in the workplace, in the education sector, and in other areas where they have been discriminated against because of their natural hairstyles. This is a law in about a dozen states. This is something that was uh spearheaded in California, signed into law by uh former uh I guess Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019 that you absolutely positively cannot be discriminated on a job because of your hair. And there are so many corporations that this applies to corporations, banks, hospitals, universities, government, um, government offices, and there are some heavy hitters behind this movement, especially dove. So let's take a quick look into exemptions and safety considerations. But first, let's let's just this is an important distinction, okay? The Crown Act alone does not eliminate legitimate workplace safety requirements because there are certain industries that may still impose hair restrictions if they are based on genuine safety concerns instead of racial bias. Now, what are some of these exemptions? And I think these exemptions are important to know because sometimes people immediately want to cry foul and use the Crown Act as that basis to crown to cry foul, but you have to also know the exemptions. Some of the exemptions that are very distinctive are firefighters, you know. Firefighters wear uh breathing apparatus, and so their hairstyles and their facial hair especially has to fall within a safety standard within fire safety, that's an exem exemption. Then let's talk about police officers. Police officers they do wear protective equipment, and if a natural hairstyle is going to interfere with their protective equipment, that's an exemption. Now, here's the big one: food service employees. Food service employees have to comply with health regulations, and so when it comes to food service employees, you have to be really careful about saying, Oh, I wanted a job at McDonald's, but they would not hire me because I had locks. See, that's one of those exemptions because it's food service, and there are rules, regulations, and policies that pertain to food safety and handling by state, depending upon the state's health department or the state's department of agriculture. Then you also have industries where employees may have to operate machinery in the manufacturing industry. So if people are operating machinery, hairstyles is a safety hazard. And then, of course, now here's another big one. Let's let's talk about your medical personnel. You have medical personnel that work in sterile environments. Now, in these situations mentioned firefighters, police officers, food service, manufacturers, medical personnel, these are situations where Employers are focused more on what you call hair containment rather than hairstyle elimination. If they cannot safely tuck, fold, pull, braid, ponytail, or whatever their hair that helps maintain um, you know, have hair containment because of the area that they're working on, then the employer has the upper hand because these are some of the exemptions. And so, how does this work? Okay, say for example, if um there's an employee that wants to work with food. This employee that has locks, he may be required to wear a hairnet, or he may be required to wear a cap, or he may be required to wear a paper hat. So if he can't wear that paper hat, that whatever that the employee says that has to contain the hair, then the employer is right. Now look at this. You also have a worker with braids. The worker with braids, excuse me, may need to secure hair, but need protective equipment. So the key legal question becomes: is this rule based on safety or is the rule based on appearance preferences? See, that's that fine line where the distinction it matters greatly. You know, it's it's a serious, it's a serious distinction that really, really matter. So before we get ready to go into some of these case studies and lawsuits, I just wanted to run back through a few things just from the top. You know, uh, we do have industries that have to comply. We talked about those. We did say that yes, black hair is professional. We talked about some of the styles from brave, cornrows, locks, twists, bantu knots, half-rose. We did talk about a little bit about the uh federal law and the state and legal protections, and that the United States House of Representatives did approve a federal crown act in 2022, which was basically started in 2019 and signed into law in California, who became the very first state to comply and actually make it a state regulation. And we just went through some exemptions and some safety considerations where some of these uh the employers will be correct. So we're gonna take a quick break, and then when we come back, I just want to dive real fast into some of the case studies and lawsuits, and before we go at the end, we'll let some employers know some things that they should know about and some things that they should be doing. So don't touch that down, we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

It's 4 a.m., Monday, and you're literally sucking baby snot through a tube because she's congested. Man, that's love. And if you love her that much, love her enough to make sure she's buckled in the right car seat. To make sure your child's in the right seat for their age and size, visit nhtasa.gov slash the right seat. Show them you love them. Keep them safe. Visit nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. Brought to you by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council.

SPEAKER_07 25:24

You served behind the desk. You served in combat. You did four years and got out. You were drafted. You gave 20 years.

SPEAKER_17 25:32

You gave exactly what your country needed.

SPEAKER_07 25:35

You are a veteran.

SPEAKER_17 25:37

You are a veteran.

SPEAKER_08 25:39

You are a veteran. And you deserve support.

SPEAKER_17 25:42

If you're struggling with life after service, don't wait. Reach out.

SPEAKER_08 25:46

Find resources at va.gov slash reach.

SPEAKER_17 25:49

Brought to you by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ad Council.

SPEAKER_12 25:57

If a baby llora is the asiento trasero, would it take hambre? But if a baby is dormant in the asiento trasero, the possibility that losses in the asiento trasero aument.

SPEAKER_05 26:35

And before the break, I did say I would go into a few case studies and maybe a few lawsuits in regards to companies that had to mess around and find out, for lack of a better word. Okay, so there are several cases that helped bring attention to hair discrimination, and one of the most widely discussed involved a woman who was offered employment. And then after she was offered employment, she was allegedly told that in order to obtain the position, she would have to cut her hair, cut her locks, in other words. Now, this case became a national conversation about whether natural hairstyles should be protected under discrimination laws. Then there was another highly publicized case that involved students, students that were being disciplined because they had hairstyles at schools, such as their locks and their braids. And these are the type of incidents that generated public outrage and fueled legislative action across several states. Now we did mention California, New York, they issued a guidance stating employers who prohibit hairstyles, the ones that we described earlier, afro, twists, braids, cornrows, lock, and bantunats may be engaging in unlawful discrimination. Now the good thing about these cases is the fact that these cases demonstrated that appearance policy could disproportionately affect black employees and black students. Now I have a quote here for you from Representative Juanita Brent of Ohio. Her quote said, your hair should not change your work. Man, what a powerful quote. And this quote actually became symbolic of the bigger picture and the broader movement to actually end hair discrimination. That's amazing, isn't it? I tell you, um, as we get ready to head to the final stretch here, I want to let you know that the Crown Act, it's about dignity. It's about inclusion. The Crown Act is about ensuring that people are judged by their performance, their character, their qualifications, and contributions, not whether their hair performs to somebody else's standard of beauty. Again, the Crown Act, it began in 2019. We had some major companies such as Dove, that's quite like the Dove Soap that we know of Dove, the National Urban Beast, Colored Change, and the Western Center of Law and Poverty, in partnership with that Senator that I mentioned earlier, Senator Holly Jack. And from that time to now, this movement has really expanded the nature and changed place of America. Something that's important. It doesn't matter if you're a business owner, if you're a communicator, if you're an entrepreneur, if you're a administrator, or an employee. Understanding these protections, that's no longer an option. It's part of building a workplace where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. I'm not talking about somebody that wants to come and colour. That's not what we're talking about. You know, we're talking about dignity and being able to come, you know, and just go to work and do what you were hired to do. I will let you know of a few case studies. Uh, in 2025, In N Out Burger. Oh, I love their burgers. In N Out Burger, this was a they actually was one of the most widely discussed cases involving this chain. Now, In N Out, they are privately owned. Now, in 2025, there was an employee, his name was Elijah O'Bang, O-B-E-N-G. He filed a lawsuit in California alleging that he was subjected to discrimination because of his natural hair and texture. And he alleged that although he tried his best to comply with the policies by braiding his hair, management continued to pressure him to alter his appearance, and they eventually fired him. Now that lawsuit, that lawsuit did seek millions of dollars in damages, especially violations under the Crown Act. And now this litigation is still ongoing, and the company is denying any wrongdoing. Now, for employers, you got to understand this case should serve as a reminder to you that grooming policies must be carefully reviewed to ensure, again, that they're not disproportionately affecting employees because of race-associated hairstyles. Now, here's another uh here's another case study, something else that happened in San Diego in 2021. An individual named Jeffrey Thornton, he uh actually he was the first to file a lawsuit, not in and out burger, but Thornton alleged that an employer required him to cut his hair as a condition of employment. So that was another one of those case studies, and to let you know that here at this time, and and you know, this time where we are in life and the world and politics and how things work, these things were actually going on, and they were real issues in regards to these uh organizations wanting people, human beings, to actually cut their hair in order to come and work a job. These are people that's trying to make a living for themselves, that's trying to, you know, they want to eat and be a good global citizen like everyone else, and they are being forced to alter their appearance and being threatened, you know, that they're going to lose their jobs. Now, then we also have a case. Listen, I'll tell you, this is going all around the world. There was a case in Texas, these involved students, DeAndre Arnold, Caden Bradford, Daryl George. They challenged the school policies restricting hairstyles worn by students, and this received national media attention. And again, this was something else that helped influence the passage of the Crown Act and actually the Texas Crown Act. And then, you know, this goes everywhere. The uh Harvard University Repertory Theater in 2026. There's an actress, Nike Imoru, I-M-O-R-U. She filed a lawsuit. Because um she claimed that they were discriminating against her because of her hair treatment and styling practices during a thermal uh the theatrical production, excuse me. And uh, you know, they were discriminating. So, just to wrap up, what employers need to know? If you own a business, if you manage employees or through human resources, here's some lessons. You need to review your grooming and appearance policies, you need to make sure that your supervisors and managers are trained, you need to uh avoid some of these subjective terms, such as professional appearance, unless you have some clear definitions. Now, we're not asking you to violate safety, you certainly want to ensure that your safety policies are genuinely related to the safety concern. And at the end of the day, you're running a business and you need to focus on performance and qualifications instead of hairstyles. And if you're not sure counseling, what is happening eliminated with race understanding discrimination is also a low discrimination enlightened. And this portion of the show has been brought to you by the small black business international magazine giving black business as an opportunity to shine and provide inside wisdom, isn't it? This is really great, and I'm glad you take your time out to learn about the crowd. So the next time that you have to say all of your business in the endeavors, and it's the next time.