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Union Calendar No. 425 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5309 

[Report No. 116–525, Part I] 

To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture or style of hair. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 5, 2019 

Mr. RICHMOND (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. 

BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 

CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, 

Mr. EVANS, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAWSON

of Florida, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. MOORE, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. 

PLASKETT, Mr. RUSH, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. 

VEASEY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. KHANNA, 

Ms. ESHOO, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. 

DEMINGS, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. CASTOR

of Florida, Ms. WILD, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. 

BROWN of Maryland, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. WATERS, 

Ms. ADAMS, Ms. DEAN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. CASTRO

of Texas, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. 

LEVIN of Michigan, Ms. HAALAND, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. TED LIEU

of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. NADLER, and Ms. GARCIA of Texas 


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SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 

Committee on Education and Labor discharged; committed to the Committee 

of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on December 5, 2019] 

A BILL 

To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture 

or style of hair. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Creating a Respectful 

5 and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2020’’ or the 

6 ‘‘CROWN Act of 2020’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSE. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Throughout United States history, society 

10 has used (in conjunction with skin color) hair texture 

11 and hairstyle to classify individuals on the basis of 

12 race. 

13 (2) Like one’s skin color, one’s hair has served as 

14 a basis of race and national origin discrimination. 

15 (3) Racial and national origin discrimination 

16 can and do occur because of longstanding racial and 

17 national origin biases and stereotypes associated with 

18 hair texture and style. 

19 (4) For example, routinely, people of African de20 scent are deprived of educational and employment op21 portunities because they are adorned with natural or 

22 protective hairstyles in which hair is tightly coiled or 

23 tightly curled, or worn in locs, cornrows, twists, 

24 braids, Bantu knots, or Afros. 


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1 (5) Racial and national origin discrimination is 

2 reflected in school and workplace policies and prac3 tices that bar natural or protective hairstyles com4 monly worn by people of African descent. 

5 (6) For example, as recently as 2018, the United 

6 States Armed Forces had grooming policies that 

7 barred natural or protective hairstyles that service8 women of African descent commonly wear and that 

9 described these hairstyles as ‘‘unkempt’’. 

10 (7) In 2018, the United States Armed Forces re11 scinded these policies and recognized that this descrip12 tion perpetuated derogatory racial stereotypes. 

13 (8) The United States Armed Forces also recog14 nized that prohibitions against natural or protective 

15 hairstyles that African-American servicewomen are 

16 commonly adorned with are racially discriminatory 

17 and bear no relationship to African-American service18 women’s occupational qualifications and their ability 

19 to serve and protect the Nation. 

20 (9) As a type of racial or national origin dis21 crimination, discrimination on the basis of natural 

22 or protective hairstyles that people of African descent 

23 are commonly adorned with violates existing Federal 

24 law, including provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 

25 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), section 1977 of the 


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1 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981), and the Fair 

2 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). However, some 

3 Federal courts have misinterpreted Federal civil 

4 rights law by narrowly interpreting the meaning of 

5 race or national origin, and thereby permitting, for 

6 example, employers to discriminate against people of 

7 African descent who wear natural or protective hair8 styles even though the employment policies involved 

9 are not related to workers’ ability to perform their 

10 jobs. 

11 (10) Applying this narrow interpretation of race 

12 or national origin has resulted in a lack of Federal 

13 civil rights protection for individuals who are dis14 criminated against on the basis of characteristics that 

15 are commonly associated with race and national ori16 gin. 

17 (11) In 2019 and 2020, State legislatures and 

18 municipal bodies throughout the United States have 

19 introduced and passed legislation that rejects certain 

20 Federal courts’ restrictive interpretation of race and 

21 national origin, and expressly classifies race and na22 tional origin discrimination as inclusive of discrimi23 nation on the basis of natural or protective hairstyles 

24 commonly associated with race and national origin. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

2 that— 

3 (1) the Federal Government should acknowledge 

4 that individuals who have hair texture or wear a 

5 hairstyle that is historically and contemporarily asso6 ciated with African Americans or persons of African 

7 descent systematically suffer harmful discrimination 

8 in schools, workplaces, and other contexts based upon 

9 longstanding race and national origin stereotypes and 

10 biases; 

11 (2) a clear and comprehensive law should ad12 dress the systematic deprivation of educational, em13 ployment, and other opportunities on the basis of hair 

14 texture and hairstyle that are commonly associated 

15 with race or national origin; 

16 (3) clear, consistent, and enforceable legal stand17 ards must be provided to redress the widespread 

18 incidences of race and national origin discrimination 

19 based upon hair texture and hairstyle in schools, 

20 workplaces, housing, federally funded institutions, 

21 and other contexts; 

22 (4) it is necessary to prevent educational, em23 ployment, and other decisions, practices, and policies 

24 generated by or reflecting negative biases and stereo25 types related to race or national origin; 


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1 (5) the Federal Government must play a key role 

2 in enforcing Federal civil rights laws in a way that 

3 secures equal educational, employment, and other op4 portunities for all individuals regardless of their race 

5 or national origin; 

6 (6) the Federal Government must play a central 

7 role in enforcing the standards established under this 

8 Act on behalf of individuals who suffer race or na9 tional origin discrimination based upon hair texture 

10 and hairstyle; 

11 (7) it is necessary to prohibit and provide rem12 edies for the harms suffered as a result of race or na13 tional origin discrimination on the basis of hair tex14 ture and hairstyle; and 

15 (8) it is necessary to mandate that school, work16 place, and other applicable standards be applied in a 

17 nondiscriminatory manner and to explicitly prohibit 

18 the adoption or implementation of grooming require19 ments that disproportionately impact people of Afri20 can descent. 

21 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to institute 

22 definitions of race and national origin for Federal civil 

23 rights laws that effectuate the comprehensive scope of protec24 tion Congress intended to be afforded by such laws and ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 Sep 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5309.RH H5309

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1 gress’ objective to eliminate race and national origin dis2 crimination in the United States. 

3 SEC. 3. FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—No individual in the United States 

5 shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the bene6 fits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any pro7 gram or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, 

8 based on the individual’s hair texture or hairstyle, if that 

9 hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with 

10 a particular race or national origin (including a hairstyle 

11 in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, corn12 rows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 

13 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be enforced 

14 in the same manner and by the same means, including with 

15 the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was incor16 porated in title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

17 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), and as if a violation of subsection 

18 (a) was treated as if it was a violation of section 601 of 

19 such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000d). 

20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

21 (1) the term ‘‘program or activity’’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 606 of the Civil 

23 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–4a); and 

24 (2) the terms ‘‘race’’ and ‘‘national origin’’ 

25 mean, respectively, ‘‘race’’ within the meaning of the 


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1 term in section 601 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 2000d) 

2 and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning of the term 

3 in that section 601. 

4 SEC. 4. HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—No person in the United States 

6 shall be subjected to a discriminatory housing practice 

7 based on the person’s hair texture or hairstyle, if that hair 

8 texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a par9 ticular race or national origin (including a hairstyle in 

10 which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, cornrows, 

11 twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 

12 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be enforced 

13 in the same manner and by the same means, including with 

14 the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was incor15 porated in the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), 

16 and as if a violation of subsection (a) was treated as if 

17 it was a discriminatory housing practice. 

18 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section— 

19 (1) the terms ‘‘discriminatory housing practice’’ 

20 and ‘‘person’’ have the meanings given the terms in 

21 section 802 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 3602); and 

23 (2) the terms ‘‘race’’ and ‘‘national origin’’ 

24 mean, respectively, ‘‘race’’ within the meaning of the 

25 term in section 804 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) and 


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1 ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning of the term in 

2 that section 804. 

3 SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—No person in the United States 

5 shall be subjected to a practice prohibited under section 201, 

6 202, or 203 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a 

7 et seq.), based on the person’s hair texture or hairstyle, if 

8 that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated 

9 with a particular race or national origin (including a hair10 style in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, 

11 cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 

12 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be enforced 

13 in the same manner and by the same means, including with 

14 the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was incor15 porated in title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and as 

16 if a violation of subsection (a) was treated as if it was a 

17 violation of section 201, 202, or 203, as appropriate, of such 

18 Act. 

19 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the terms ‘‘race’’ and 

20 ‘‘national origin’’ mean, respectively, ‘‘race’’ within the 

21 meaning of the term in section 201 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 2000e) and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning of the 

23 term in that section 201. 


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1 SEC. 6. EMPLOYMENT. 

2 (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be an unlawful employ3 ment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor 

4 organization, or joint labor-management committee control5 ling apprenticeship or other training or retraining (includ6 ing on-the-job training programs) to fail or refuse to hire 

7 or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate 

8 against an individual, based on the individual’s hair tex9 ture or hairstyle, if that hair texture or that hairstyle is 

10 commonly associated with a particular race or national or11 igin (including a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled 

12 or tightly curled, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, 

13 and Afros). 

14 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be enforced 

15 in the same manner and by the same means, including with 

16 the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was incor17 porated in title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

18 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), and as if a violation of subsection 

19 (a) was treated as if it was a violation of section 703 or 

20 704, as appropriate, of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2, 

21 2000e–3). 

22 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the terms ‘‘person’’, 

23 ‘‘race’’, and ‘‘national origin’’ have the meanings given the 

24 terms in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

25 U.S.C. 2000e). 


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1 SEC. 7. EQUAL RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—No person in the United States 

3 shall be subjected to a practice prohibited under section 

4 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981), based on 

5 the person’s hair texture or hairstyle, if that hair texture 

6 or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a particular 

7 race or national origin (including a hairstyle in which hair 

8 is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, cornrows, twists, 

9 braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 

10 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be enforced 

11 in the same manner and by the same means, including with 

12 the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was incor13 porated in section 1977 of the Revised Statutes, and as if 

14 a violation of subsection (a) was treated as if it was a viola15 tion of that section 1977. 

16 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

17 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit defini18 tions of race or national origin under the Civil Rights Act 

19 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.), the Fair Housing Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), or section 1977 of the Revised Stat21 utes (42 U.S.C. 1981). 


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Union Calendar No. 425 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5309 

[Report No. 116–525, Part I] 

A BILL 

To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s 

texture or style of hair. 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 

Committee on Education and Labor discharged; comState of the Union and ordered to be printed mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS