Austin City Council passes CROWN Act

On June 9, Austin City Council approved the CROWN Act, which protects an individual's right to wear their hair naturally in the workplace.

CROWN is an acronym for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair." The passing of CROWN will prohibit discrimination in employment and housing settings based on hair texture or style. Austin is the first Texas city to pass the act.

The passing of CROWN will allow City Council to revise the code of “discriminatory employment practices” and introduce “protective hairstyles” alongside race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, familial status, marital status, student status, creed and national origin.

“Protective hairstyles” is a term that describes hair styles such as braids, locs, bantu knots, cornrows and others that protect afro-textured hair from the elements.

The U.S. House passed the CROWN Act in March, and now awaits Senate approval.

Austin City Council’s approval of the CROWN act will protect citizens until it is implemented nationally, according to city staff.

CROWN was first introduced in 2019 through a partnership between Dove and the CROWN coalition. Together, they conducted research studies on hair-based discrimination and found that Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from the workplace due to their hair.

“Austin will be a much better city for the protections we will bring to those who live, work and play here. Too often minorities are judged not only by the color of their skin, but also by the texture of their hair,” said Civil Rights Officer Carol Johnson in a press release.