IB 

Union Calendar No. 182 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2116 

[Report No. 117–252, Part I] 

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 of Maryland, 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 

FEBRUARY 25, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. COHEN, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. 

ESHOO, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. 

BOWMAN, Mr. KEATING, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. TORRES of New York, 

Ms. ROSS, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. BASS, Mr. RUSH, Mr. MEEKS, 

Ms. PLASKETT, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. JACOBS

of California, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. CARSON, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. JEFFRIES, 

Ms. WATERS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. BACON, Mr. JONES, Mr. TRONE, 

Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. CLEAVER, 

Mr. VEASEY, Mr. ALLRED, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. MFUME, 

Ms. TLAIB, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. KILMER, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2116 RH

JAYAPAL, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. STANTON, Ms. LOIS

FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. LIEU, Mr. RYAN, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. MANNING, Ms. DEAN, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

TAKANO, Mr. CORREA, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. SIRES, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. 

SHERRILL, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. COOPER, Ms. BROWN of Ohio, Ms. 

DELBENE, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Ms. 

BOURDEAUX, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. MCEACHIN, and Mrs. CHERFILUSMCCORMICK

FEBRUARY 25, 2022 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

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

FEBRUARY 25, 2022 

Committees on Education and Labor and the Budget 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 March 19, 2021] 

A BILL 

To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture 

or style of hair. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2116 RH

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 2021’’ or the 

6 ‘‘CROWN Act of 2021’’. 

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. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2116 RH

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 U.S. 

6 Armed Forces had grooming policies that barred nat7 ural or protective hairstyles that servicemembers of 

8 African descent commonly wear and that described 

9 these hairstyles as ‘‘unkempt’’. 

10 (7) The U.S. Army also recognized that prohibi11 tions against natural or protective hairstyles that Af12 rican-American soldiers are commonly adorned with 

13 are racially discriminatory, harmful, and bear no re14 lationship to African-American servicewomen’s occu15 pational qualifications and their ability to serve and 

16 protect the Nation. As of February 2021, the U.S. 

17 Army removed minimum hair length requirements 

18 and lifted restrictions on any soldier wearing braids, 

19 twists, locs, and cornrows in order to promote 

20 inclusivity and accommodate the hair needs of sol21 diers. 

22 (8) As a type of racial or national origin dis23 crimination, discrimination on the basis of natural 

24 or protective hairstyles that people of African descent 

25 are commonly adorned with violates existing Federal 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2116 RH

1 law, including provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 

2 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), section 1977 of the 

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

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

5 Federal courts have misinterpreted Federal civil 

6 rights law by narrowly interpreting the meaning of 

7 race or national origin, and thereby permitting, for 

8 example, employers to discriminate against people of 

9 African descent who wear natural or protective hair10 styles even though the employment policies involved 

11 are not related to workers’ ability to perform their 

12 jobs. 

13 (9) Applying this narrow interpretation of race 

14 or national origin has resulted in a lack of Federal 

15 civil rights protection for individuals who are dis16 criminated against on the basis of characteristics that 

17 are commonly associated with race and national ori18 gin. 

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

20 municipal bodies throughout the U.S. have introduced 

21 and passed legislation that rejects certain Federal 

22 courts’ restrictive interpretation of race and national 

23 origin, and expressly classifies race and national ori24 gin discrimination as inclusive of discrimination on 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2116 RH

1 the basis of natural or protective hairstyles commonly 

2 associated with race and national origin. 

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

4 that— 

5 (1) the Federal Government should acknowledge 

6 that individuals who have hair texture or wear a 

7 hairstyle that is historically and contemporarily asso8 ciated with African Americans or persons of African 

9 descent systematically suffer harmful discrimination 

10 in schools, workplaces, and other contexts based upon 

11 longstanding race and national origin stereotypes and 

12 biases; 

13 (2) a clear and comprehensive law should ad14 dress the systematic deprivation of educational, em15 ployment, and other opportunities on the basis of hair 

16 texture and hairstyle that are commonly associated 

17 with race or national origin; 

18 (3) clear, consistent, and enforceable legal stand19 ards must be provided to redress the widespread 

20 incidences of race and national origin discrimination 

21 based upon hair texture and hairstyle in schools, 

22 workplaces, housing, federally funded institutions, 

23 and other contexts; 

24 (4) it is necessary to prevent educational, em25 ployment, and other decisions, practices, and policies 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2116 RH

1 generated by or reflecting negative biases and stereo2 types related to race or national origin; 

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

4 in enforcing Federal civil rights laws in a way that 

5 secures equal educational, employment, and other op6 portunities for all individuals regardless of their race 

7 or national origin; 

8 (6) the Federal Government must play a central 

9 role in enforcing the standards established under this 

10 Act on behalf of individuals who suffer race or na11 tional origin discrimination based upon hair texture 

12 and hairstyle; 

13 (7) it is necessary to prohibit and provide rem14 edies for the harms suffered as a result of race or na15 tional origin discrimination on the basis of hair tex16 ture and hairstyle; and 

17 (8) it is necessary to mandate that school, work18 place, and other applicable standards be applied in a 

19 nondiscriminatory manner and to explicitly prohibit 

20 the adoption or implementation of grooming require21 ments that disproportionately impact people of Afri22 can descent. 

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

24 definitions of race and national origin for Federal civil 

25 rights laws that effectuate the comprehensive scope of protecVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:05 Feb 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2116.RH H2116

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2116 RH

1 tion Congress intended to be afforded by such laws and Con2 gress’ objective to eliminate race and national origin dis3 crimination in the United States. 

4 SEC. 3. FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS. 

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

6 shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the bene7 fits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any pro8 gram or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, 

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

10 hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with 

11 a particular race or national origin (including a hairstyle 

12 in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, corn13 rows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, 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 VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

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

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

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

21 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

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

23 meaning given the term in section 606 of the Civil 

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


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2116 RH

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

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

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

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

5 in that section 601. 

6 SEC. 4. HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

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

8 shall be subjected to a discriminatory housing practice 

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

10 texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a par11 ticular race or national origin (including a hairstyle in 

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

13 twists, braids, Bantu knots, 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 the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), 

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

19 it was a discriminatory housing practice. 

20 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section— 

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

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

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

24 3602); and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2116 RH

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

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

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

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

5 that section 804. 

6 SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS. 

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

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

9 202, or 203 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a 

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

11 that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated 

12 with a particular race or national origin (including a hair13 style in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, 

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

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

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

17 the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was incor18 porated in title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and as 

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

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

21 Act. 

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

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

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


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2116 RH

1 2000e) and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning of the 

2 term in that section 201. 

3 SEC. 6. EMPLOYMENT. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be an unlawful employ5 ment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor 

6 organization, or joint labor-management committee control7 ling apprenticeship or other training or retraining (includ8 ing on-the-job training programs) to fail or refuse to hire 

9 or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate 

10 against an individual, based on the individual’s hair tex11 ture or hairstyle, if that hair texture or that hairstyle is 

12 commonly associated with a particular race or national or13 igin (including a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled 

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

15 and Afros). 

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

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

18 the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was incor19 porated in title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

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

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

22 704, as appropriate, of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2, 

23 2000e–3). 

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

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


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2116 RH

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

2 U.S.C. 2000e). 

3 SEC. 7. EQUAL RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW. 

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

5 shall be subjected to a practice prohibited under section 

6 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981), based on 

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

8 or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a particular 

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

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

11 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 section 1977 of the Revised Statutes, and as if 

16 a violation of subsection (a) was treated as if it was a viola17 tion of that section 1977. 

18 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

19 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit defini20 tions of race or national origin under the Civil Rights Act 

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

22 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), or section 1977 of the Revised Stat23 utes (42 U.S.C. 1981). 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2116 RH

1 SEC. 9. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

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

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

4 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 

5 ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, 

6 submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 

7 Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 

8 such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on pas9 sage. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 182 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2116 

[Report No. 117–252, Part I] 

A BILL 

To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s 

texture or style of hair. 

FEBRUARY 25, 2022 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

FEBRUARY 25, 2022 

Committees on Education and Labor and the Budget disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS