03/21/2022

Alexa, play I Am Not My Hair by India Aire

And play it loud for the 189 members of the House that struggle to understand the need for the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (CROWN). Can you help them know that our natural coils aren’t matted and unkempt? They are stitched together perfectly, the indestructible legacy of our identity.

Our crown, as it grows, free of creamy crack, is professional. Our hair like wool – the way the bible described Jesus’s hair before stripping his locs to blonde ringlets – is worthy of the Boardroom and the corner office with the view. It is worthy of the highest judicial bench in the country and the 6 pm edition of the nightly news. It is worthy to walk across the stage, matriculating to our next level of greatest. It is worthy of your #respect. And its beauty should be admired but not touched.

So what does the CROWN Act do? Here are just three things to consider:

1. It affirms identities – Othering is not fixed by sameing and assimilating into dominant cultures. It is being accepted fully and authentically without being cajoled into looking like anyone else- liberation to embrace every strand’s true form in every venue. It spares the fear of missing out on opportunities because we didn’t follow Morpheus and take the red pill.

2. It bans discrimination against natural looking ethnic hairstyles, locs, coily curls, braids, afros, bantu knots, etc – Beauty standards have historically been White leaving many outside of that population scampering to access the cheat codes to secure the elusive five-star rating. From pressing combs to relaxers to hair fusions, people do what they deem they must to play the game. Now, this plot twist brings us closer to an adapted wash and go routine similar to ones our counterparts have enjoyed for generations.

3. It is more than hair – It opens the door for increased perspectives in rooms where decisions that shape the trajectories of entire communities are being made. Progress stalls in echo chambers. But before rushing to increase diversity quotas, ensure that the culture is shifting as well to create an atmosphere of belonging for the people we are making room for. Welcoming them from head to toe is a great start.

The 1964 Civil Rights Bill was passed 290-130 in the House and 73 -27 in the Senate. There will always be some who refuse to readily accept change, fearing equity robs them of their gains and awards it to others without their merit. The CROWN Act doesn’t take opportunities. It gives the freedom to be. If you haven’t walked around with the emotional trauma of having to qualify your identity and personhood in all the spaces you occupy daily, the magnitude of this step can be easily missed. But if you know… you know.

Me and my super professional self!