I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1638 
To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture or style of hair. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 26, 2025 
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. MCCLEL-
LAN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. RAMI-
REZ, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BROWN, Mr. 
COHEN, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GREEN of Texas, 
Ms. JACOBS, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. KENNEDY of New York, Mr. 
FIELDS, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, 
Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. MCGARVEY, 
Mrs. MCIVER, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. POCAN, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. 
SHERRILL, Mrs. SYKES, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. STRICKLAND, 
Mr. MEEKS, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CARSON, Mr. ESPAILLAT, 
Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. EVANS of Pennsylvania, Mr. QUIGLEY, 
Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. TURNER of Texas, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. STEVENS, 
Mr. TONKO, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. DAVIS of North 
Carolina, Mr. AMO, Mr. IVEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. PLASKETT, 
Mrs. HAYES, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, 
Ms. BYNUM, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. BELL, Ms. 
WATERS, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. MFUME, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. PRESSLEY, 
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. OMAR, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
FROST, and Mr. JEFFRIES) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined 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. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Creating a Respectful 
and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2025’’ or the 
‘‘CROWN Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Throughout United States history, society 
has used (in conjunction with skin color) hair tex-
ture and hairstyle to classify individuals on the basis 
of race. 
(2) Like one’s skin color, one’s hair has served 
as a basis of race and national origin discrimination. 
(3) Racial and national origin discrimination 
can and do occur because of longstanding racial and 
national origin biases and stereotypes associated 
with hair texture and style. 
(4) For example, people of African descent have 
been deprived of educational and employment oppor-
tunities because they are adorned with natural or 
protective hairstyles in which hair is tightly coiled or 
tightly curled, or worn in locs, cornrows, twists, 
braids, Bantu knots, or Afros. 
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(5) Racial and national origin discrimination is 
reflected in school and workplace policies and prac-
tices that bar natural or protective hairstyles com-
monly worn by people of African descent. 
(6) For example, as recently as 2018, the 
United States Armed Forces had grooming policies 
that barred natural or protective hairstyles that 
servicewomen of African descent commonly wear and 
that described these hairstyles as ‘‘unkempt’’. 
(7) In 2018, the United States Armed Forces 
rescinded these policies and recognized that this de-
scription perpetuated derogatory racial stereotypes. 
(8) The United States Armed Forces also rec-
ognized that prohibitions against natural or protec-
tive hairstyles that African-American servicewomen 
are commonly adorned with are racially discrimina-
tory and bear no relationship to African-American 
servicewomen’s occupational qualifications and their 
ability to serve and protect the Nation. 
(9) Some Federal courts have narrowly inter-
preted the protections against discrimination on the 
basis of race or national origin found in existing 
Federal civil rights laws, including provisions of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.), 
section 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 
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1981), and the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 
et seq.), thereby permitting, for example, employers 
to discriminate against people of African descent 
who wear natural or protective hairstyles, even 
though the employment policies involved are not re-
lated to workers’ ability to perform their jobs. 
(10) Applying these narrow interpretations has 
resulted in a lack of Federal civil rights protection 
for individuals who are discriminated against on the 
basis of characteristics that are commonly associated 
with race and national origin. 
(11) Starting in 2019, State legislatures and 
municipal bodies throughout the United States have 
introduced and passed legislation that rejects certain 
Federal courts’ restrictive interpretation of race and 
national origin, and expressly classifies race and na-
tional origin discrimination as inclusive of discrimi-
nation on the basis of natural or protective hair-
styles commonly associated with race and national 
origin. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the Federal Government should acknowl-
edge that individuals who have hair texture or wear 
a hairstyle that is historically and contemporarily as-
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