The CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, is a proposal introduced by Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando and Council President Nancy Navarro. This bill, when passed, means that no one can be specifically discriminated against within the work field based on their hair style. It will endorse the idea of equal opportunity within our county.
Jawando and Navarro introduced the bill on Tuesday, September 24. According to Jawando, his goal for the bill is to eliminate discrimination within the workforce of Montgomery County. Jawando told Elle Meyers of The Sentinel, “Montgomery County is a majority-minority county with over half the population identifying as people of color….At over 200,000 women and girls, Black and Hispanic women account for the highest number of ethnic populations in Montgomery County. In the context of discrimination, hair-style policies are used as a tool to discriminate against Black and Hispanic women in the workplace.”
Without protection, women of color who are employed within our community could still be subjected to discrimination within the workforce due to their selected hairstyle.