In 2019, the CROWN – Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair – Act was introduced by California representative Holly Mitchell. Since the law was first introduced, it has been signed into law in California, New York and New Jersey.
Closer to home, Kansas state Rep. Oletha Faust-Goudeau (D-Wichita) introduced the same bill for the state of Kansas. The local CROWN Act, SB 250, would “amend the definition of ‘race’ in the Kansas act against discrimination to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles.”
“Maybe my work is being inhibited because of my hair. When I walk into the room, they’re not listening to the words that I say. They’re looking at my hair.”
EMILY BROWN
In this episode of “The Filter,” you will hear personal stories, learn what impact a law like this would have on the Kansas City area’s black community and how embedded race-based discrimination is when it comes to natural hair. Thanks to Emily Brown, founder of a local nonprofit and member of Shirley’s Kitchen Cabinet, and LaRon Green, a hairstylist and the manager of Shampoo by Salon LaRon in the Brookside/Waldo area, who shared their perspectives.
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