via Pxhere
Many companies enforce dressing policies with coded language that uses race or traits commonly attributed to Black people (for example, listing hair textures that include “coily,” “kinky,” or “afro’d,”) as a way to harass workers about style choices that embrace their natural beauty.
That practice will be outlawed thanks to the recently unanimously-passed California state Senate Bill 188, also referred to as the C.R.O.W.N. Act (Creating a Respectful Open Workplace for Natural Hair).
Los Angeles Senator Holly J. Mitchell, who authored the bill and rocks gorgeous natural locs herself, notes that the C.R.O.W.N. Act “protects Black employees and students from being forced to conform to a non-inclusive idea of a professional image at the expense of their personal choice.”
The anti-discrimination legislation also spells out just how devastating dress codes that reject twists, braids, locs, and other perfectly appropriate styles commonly worn by Black job seekers can be.
“Workplace dress code and grooming policies that prohibit natural hair,” it reads, “are more likely to deter Black applicants and burden or punish Black employees than any other group.”
What a relief it is to be able to style our hair how we want and not have to argue down an employer who polices our bodies by insisting we adhere to a Eurocentric definition of professionalism.