Black and brown people face racial discrimination based on their hair texture at work, school, and beyond, but a growing number of states are passing legislation to protect against hair discrimination. July 3 marks five years since the signing of the inaugural state CROWN (“Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”) Act. Now, 25 states in total have passed the CROWN Act, with Vermont becoming the latest state to enact the legislation in April. Meanwhile Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) signed an executive order to protect against hair-based discrimination for state government workers and job applicants, which helps build momentum for legislation that would protect everyone. The map below illustrates which states have passed the CROWN Act (D.C. has protections against hair discrimination but not through the CROWN Act).

While becoming law in 25 states is critically important, the bill still has a long way to go to protect everyone. More than 10 states have considered CROWN Act bills in the past few years but failed to pass them, including Florida, New Hampshire, and Ohio. At the federal level, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced the legislation this spring, but neither bill has reached a floor vote this session. 

Policies to combat racism manifested through hair-based discrimination, like the CROWN Act, are still needed. Black and brown students are still being penalized for wearing their natural hair, Black women still earn $18,000 less per year than white men working full-time, and more than 43% of Black women still live in states where they are vulnerable to hair-based discrimination. With state legislative sessions largely winding down, lawmakers in the remaining half of states with no CROWN Act—as well as members of Congress—have one clear piece of unfinished business they should prioritize for the next session: making sure Black and brown people are protected against hair-based discrimination.

Learn more about the CROWN Act here.