Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando and Council President Navarro recently held a press conference on Bill 30-19, the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act.
The CROWN Act would prohibit discrimination against certain types of natural hairstyles, including braids, locks, afros, curls and twists, and would ensure that individuals who are discriminated against because of the appearance of their natural hair can seek a civil penalty of up to $5,000 through the County’s Office of Human Rights.
In the U.S., the law does not currently afford protection for race-based hair discrimination, even if the hairstyle is inherent to racial identity according to officials.
Montgomery County is the first local jurisdiction to introduce such legislation. Other states, including New York and California, have recently adopted or introduced similar legislation.
Councilmember @willjawando says he was driven to introduce the CROWN Act because of his daughters and to address discrimination against people of color. #CROWNAct pic.twitter.com/X4mc6gbSjB
— Montgomery Council (@MoCoCouncilMD) October 15, 2019
Today, I was proud to introduce The CROWN Act, to protect all our our residents against discrimination on the basis of their natural hair or hairstyle. All residents deserves to be who they are and have the opportunity to achieve their potential. #MoCoCROWNAct #CROWNAct pic.twitter.com/itFdn8s3ne
— Will Jawando (@willjawando) September 24, 2019
