Shapiro signs CROWN Act against hair discrimination

Pennsylvania is now the 28th state to ban discrimination based on hair or appearance, after Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill expanding the definition of “race” to include hair texture, protective hairstyles and religious creed.

On Tuesday, Shapiro and other legislators gathered at Island Design Natural Hair Studio in Philadelphia to sign the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act.

“For too long, many Pennsylvanians have faced discrimination simply for hairstyles that reflect their identity and culture — that ends today,” Shapiro said.

CROWN was first introduced in Allegheny County by state Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Pittsburgh, and was passed by both city and county council in October 2020.

“You can be discriminated against if you are Black based on how you wear your hair, the locs, braids, afros and twists. You can lose your job, you can be denied the right to go to school, or be barred from restaurants and public spaces. We need to ban race-based hair discrimination, we are committed to getting it passed,” Mayes said at a GRWM Runway Experience last year.

In 2022, there were 916 complaints filed related to racial discrimination involving hair texture and protective hairstyles, according to a Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission report.

On Tuesday, Mayes, along with Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, and CROWN advocate Adjoa Asamoah, joined Shapiro at the salon.

Island Design Natural Hair Studio opened in 2001, according to the salon’s website.

Salon owner Lorraine Ruley reflected on her experience working with different clients’ hair.

“As a child growing up in the Virgin Islands with natural hair, wearing my natural hair has been all that I know,” Ruley said. “But as I opened my salon and spoke to different clients, clients that wear braids are telling me, ‘Lorraine, I have to take these braids out. I have a job interview,’ or, ‘Lorraine, I have to cut my locs down because my job says they’re too long.’ The experience has been really heartbreaking.”