I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2116 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2021 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. PRESSLEY, 

Ms. OMAR, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mrs. BEATTY, Mrs. CAROLYN B. 

MALONEY of New York, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS

of Illinois, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. WILSON

of Florida, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. 

EVANS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CASTRO

of Texas, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. BUSH, 

Mrs. HAYES, Mr. NADLER, Ms. STRICKLAND, and Mr. HASTINGS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and 

the Budget, 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 

A BILL 

To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture 

or style of hair. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2021’’ or the 

4 ‘‘CROWN Act of 2021’’. 

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

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

7 (1) Throughout United States history, society 

8 has used (in conjunction with skin color) hair tex9 ture and hairstyle to classify individuals on the basis 

10 of race. 

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

12 as a basis of race and national origin discrimination. 

13 (3) Racial and national origin discrimination 

14 can and do occur because of longstanding racial and 

15 national origin biases and stereotypes associated 

16 with hair texture and style. 

17 (4) For example, routinely, people of African 

18 descent are deprived of educational and employment 

19 opportunities because they are adorned with natural 

20 or protective hairstyles in which hair is tightly coiled 

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

22 braids, Bantu knots, or Afros. 

23 (5) Racial and national origin discrimination is 

24 reflected in school and workplace policies and prac25 tices that bar natural or protective hairstyles com26 monly worn by people of African descent. 


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1 (6) For example, as recently as 2018, the 

2 United States Armed Forces had grooming policies 

3 that barred natural or protective hairstyles that 

4 servicemembers of African descent commonly wear 

5 and that described these hairstyles as ‘‘unkempt’’. 

6 (7) The United States Army also recognized 

7 that prohibitions against natural or protective hair8 styles that African-American soldiers are commonly 

9 adorned with are racially discriminatory, harmful, 

10 and bear no relationship to African-American serv11 icewomen’s occupational qualifications and their 

12 ability to serve and protect the Nation. As of Feb13 ruary 2021, the United States Army removed min14 imum hair length requirements and lifted restric15 tions on any soldier wearing braids, twists, locs, and 

16 cornrows in order to promote inclusivity and accom17 modate the hair needs of soldiers. 

18 (8) As a type of racial or national origin dis19 crimination, discrimination on the basis of natural 

20 or protective hairstyles that people of African de21 scent are commonly adorned with violates existing 

22 Federal law, including provisions of the Civil Rights 

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

24 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981), and the 

25 Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). HowVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2116.IH H2116

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1 ever, some Federal courts have misinterpreted Fed2 eral civil rights law by narrowly interpreting the 

3 meaning of race or national origin, and thereby per4 mitting, for example, employers to discriminate 

5 against people of African descent who wear natural 

6 or protective hairstyles even though the employment 

7 policies involved are not related to workers’ ability to 

8 perform their jobs. 

9 (9) Applying this narrow interpretation of race 

10 or national origin has resulted in a lack of Federal 

11 civil rights protection for individuals who are dis12 criminated against on the basis of characteristics 

13 that are commonly associated with race and national 

14 origin. 

15 (10) In 2019 and 2020, State legislatures and 

16 municipal bodies throughout the United States have 

17 introduced and passed legislation that rejects certain 

18 Federal courts’ restrictive interpretation of race and 

19 national origin, and expressly classifies race and na20 tional origin discrimination as inclusive of discrimi21 nation on the basis of natural or protective hair22 styles commonly associated with race and national 

23 origin. 

24 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that— 


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1 (1) the Federal Government should acknowl2 edge that individuals who have hair texture or wear 

3 a hairstyle that is historically and contemporarily as4 sociated with African Americans or persons of Afri5 can descent systematically suffer harmful discrimi6 nation in schools, workplaces, and other contexts 

7 based upon longstanding race and national origin 

8 stereotypes and biases; 

9 (2) a clear and comprehensive law should ad10 dress the systematic deprivation of educational, em11 ployment, and other opportunities on the basis of 

12 hair texture and hairstyle that are commonly associ13 ated with race or national origin; 

14 (3) clear, consistent, and enforceable legal 

15 standards must be provided to redress the wide16 spread incidences of race and national origin dis17 crimination based upon hair texture and hairstyle in 

18 schools, workplaces, housing, federally funded insti19 tutions, and other contexts; 

20 (4) it is necessary to prevent educational, em21 ployment, and other decisions, practices, and policies 

22 generated by or reflecting negative biases and 

23 stereotypes related to race or national origin; 

24 (5) the Federal Government must play a key 

25 role in enforcing Federal civil rights laws in a way 


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1 that secures equal educational, employment, and 

2 other opportunities for all individuals regardless of 

3 their race or national origin; 

4 (6) the Federal Government must play a central 

5 role in enforcing the standards established under 

6 this Act on behalf of individuals who suffer race or 

7 national origin discrimination based upon hair tex8 ture and hairstyle; 

9 (7) it is necessary to prohibit and provide rem10 edies for the harms suffered as a result of race or 

11 national origin discrimination on the basis of hair 

12 texture and hairstyle; and 

13 (8) it is necessary to mandate that school, 

14 workplace, and other applicable standards be applied 

15 in a nondiscriminatory manner and to explicitly pro16 hibit the adoption or implementation of grooming re17 quirements that disproportionately impact people of 

18 African descent. 

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

20 definitions of race and national origin for Federal civil 

21 rights laws that effectuate the comprehensive scope of pro22 tection Congress intended to be afforded by such laws and 

23 Congress’ objective to eliminate race and national origin 

24 discrimination in the United States. 


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1 SEC. 3. FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS. 

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

3 States shall be excluded from participation in, be denied 

4 the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, 

5 any program or activity receiving Federal financial assist6 ance, based on the individual’s hair texture or hairstyle, 

7 if that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associ8 ated with a particular race or national origin (including 

9 a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, 

10 locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 

11 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be en12 forced in the same manner and by the same means, includ13 ing with the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was 

14 incorporated in title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

15 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), and as if a violation of sub16 section (a) was treated as if it was a violation of section 

17 601 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000d). 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

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

20 meaning given the term in section 606 of the Civil 

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

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

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

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

25 and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning of the 

26 term in that section 601. 


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1 SEC. 4. HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

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

3 shall be subjected to a discriminatory housing practice 

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

5 texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a 

6 particular race or national origin (including a hairstyle in 

7 which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, corn8 rows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 

9 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be en10 forced in the same manner and by the same means, includ11 ing with the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was 

12 incorporated in the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 

13 et seq.), and as if a violation of subsection (a) was treated 

14 as if it was a discriminatory housing practice. 

15 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section— 

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

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

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

19 3602); and 

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

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

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

23 and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning of the 

24 term in that section 804. 


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1 SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS. 

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

3 shall be subjected to a practice prohibited under section 

4 201, 202, or 203 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

5 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.), based on the person’s hair texture 

6 or hairstyle, if that hair texture or that hairstyle is com7 monly associated with a particular race or national origin 

8 (including a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled or 

9 tightly curled, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, 

10 and Afros). 

11 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be en12 forced in the same manner and by the same means, includ13 ing with the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was 

14 incorporated in title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 

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

16 it was a violation of section 201, 202, or 203, as appro17 priate, of such Act. 

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

19 and ‘‘national origin’’ mean, respectively, ‘‘race’’ within 

20 the meaning of the term in section 201 of that Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 2000e) and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning 

22 of the term in that section 201. 

23 SEC. 6. EMPLOYMENT. 

24 (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be an unlawful employ25 ment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor 

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1 trolling apprenticeship or other training or retraining (in2 cluding on-the-job training programs) to fail or refuse to 

3 hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to dis4 criminate against an individual, based on the individual’s 

5 hair texture or hairstyle, if that hair texture or that hair6 style is commonly associated with a particular race or na7 tional origin (including a hairstyle in which hair is tightly 

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

9 Bantu knots, and Afros). 

10 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be en11 forced in the same manner and by the same means, includ12 ing with the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was 

13 incorporated in title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

14 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), and as if a violation of sub15 section (a) was treated as if it was a violation of section 

16 703 or 704, as appropriate, of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 2000e–2, 2000e–3). 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the terms ‘‘per19 son’’, ‘‘race’’, and ‘‘national origin’’ have the meanings 

20 given the terms in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 

21 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e). 

22 SEC. 7. EQUAL RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW. 

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

24 shall be subjected to a practice prohibited under section 

25 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981), based on 


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

2 or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a particular 

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

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

5 braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 

6 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be en7 forced in the same manner and by the same means, includ8 ing with the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was 

9 incorporated in section 1977 of the Revised Statutes, and 

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

11 a violation of that section 1977. 

12 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit defini14 tions of race or national origin under the Civil Rights Act 

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

16 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), or section 1977 of the Revised 

17 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981). 

18 SEC. 9. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

19 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

20 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

21 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

22 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

23 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

24 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2116.IH H2116

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1 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

2 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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