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Late Saturday evening, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed into law a bill prohibiting race-based hair discrimination in Texas workplaces, schools and housing policies. The new law also updated the state's education, labor and property codes to outlaw discrimination based on certain hairstyles — including braids, dreadlocks and twists.
House Bill 567, also known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act, was authored and introduced by State Rep. Rhetta A. Bowers (D-Garland). The bill, more widely known as the CROWN Act, will take effect on September 1, 2023 after having sailed through both chambers of the legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Before reaching Abbott’s desk, the measure passed the Texas Senate with a 29-1 vote and the House with a 143-5 vote.
Bowers, who was “incredibly” thankful to Abbott for signing the CROWN Act into law, pointed out the measure’s significance.
"The CROWN Act is a civil rights law that will improve the lives of countless Texans, and it will be appreciated by more people than we can imagine," Bowers said while also paying homage to activists in the trenches. "I must express my gratitude for CROWN Coalition co-creator Adjoa B. Asamoah, for all of her hard work and support, here on the ground and from afar," Bowers exclaimed.
Crafted under the national leadership of Asamoah, the CROWN Act currently exists in 20 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.
"I am overjoyed that the CROWN Act has been signed into law in Texas," said Asamoah, who developed the legislative and social impact strategies for the law in 2018. "I'm forever grateful for the servant leadership of Representative Bowers and Senator [Borris L.] Miles. They both embody what it means to lead boldly and commit to ushering a bill across the finish line."
According to a recent Michigan State University study, African-American women face the highest rate of hair discrimination. The study found that 80% of African-American women felt they needed to switch their hairstyle to align with more “conservative” standards of the workplace.
“Black women with natural hairstyles were considered less professional and less competent and received fewer recommendations for interviews when compared to Black women with straightened hair and white women with straight or curly hair,” the study said.
Miles, a Democrat representing Houston who carried the bill in the Texas Senate, said the Crown Act was developed to correct this grave miscarriage of justice.
"I am pleased that the CROWN Act has been signed by Governor Abbott,” Miles said.
“I want to personally thank the CROWN Act champ, Adjoa B. Asamoah, the architect of this bill for leading the charge, not just in Texas, but the nation, to protect Texans of color from discrimination," Miles continued. “I also want to thank Representative Rhetta Andrews Bowers, the author of the CROWN Act, for spending years promoting this legislation and earning bipartisan support."
