I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8191 
To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture or style of hair. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2024 
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. OMAR, Ms. LEE 
of California, Mr. FROST, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. BROWN, Ms. JA-
COBS, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. 
BOWMAN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. MFUME, Mr. JACKSON 
of Illinois, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. DAVIS of 
North Carolina, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. GOLDMAN 
of New York, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. 
ADAMS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. 
CLEAVER, Ms. JACKSON
LEE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. TONKO, Mr. ALLRED, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. ESCOBAR, 
Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. EVANS, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SMITH of Washington, 
Ms. UNDERWOOD, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. PETERS, 
Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. TRONE, Mr. GARCI´A of Illi-
nois, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Mr. 
LANDSMAN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. POCAN, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. 
GARCIA of Texas, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Mrs. 
CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. WATERS, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SCOTT of Vir-
ginia, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. IVEY, 
Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. PLASKETT, Mr. AMO, Mr. CARSON, Mrs. 
SYKES, Ms. BUSH, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, 
Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. CLYBURN, and Mr. MEEKS) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 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 com-
mittee concerned 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
A BILL 
To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture 
or style of hair. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Creating a Respectful 
and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2024’’ or the 
‘‘CROWN Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Throughout United States history, society 
has used (in conjunction with skin color) hair tex-
ture and hairstyle to classify individuals on the basis 
of race. 
(2) Like one’s skin color, one’s hair has served 
as a basis of race and national origin discrimination. 
(3) Racial and national origin discrimination 
can and do occur because of longstanding racial and 
national origin biases and stereotypes associated 
with hair texture and style. 
(4) For example, people of African descent have 
been deprived of educational and employment oppor-
tunities because they are adorned with natural or 
protective hairstyles in which hair is tightly coiled or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
tightly curled, or worn in locs, cornrows, twists, 
braids, Bantu knots, or Afros. 
(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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.), 
section 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 
1981), and the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 
et seq.), thereby permitting, for example, employers 
to discriminate against people of African descent 
who wear natural or protective hairstyles, even 
though the employment policies involved are not re-
lated to workers’ ability to perform their jobs. 
(10) Applying these narrow interpretations has 
resulted in a lack of Federal civil rights protection 
for individuals who are discriminated against on the 
basis of characteristics that are commonly associated 
with race and national origin. 
(11) Starting in 2019, State legislatures and 
municipal bodies throughout the United States have 
introduced and passed legislation that rejects certain 
Federal courts’ restrictive interpretation of race and 
national origin, and expressly classifies race and na-
tional origin discrimination as inclusive of discrimi-
nation on the basis of natural or protective hair-
styles commonly associated with race and national 
origin. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(1) the Federal Government should acknowl-
edge that individuals who have hair texture or wear 
a hairstyle that is historically and contemporarily as-
sociated with African Americans or persons of Afri-
can descent have suffered harmful discrimination in 
schools, workplaces, and other contexts based upon 
longstanding race and national origin stereotypes 
and biases; 
(2) a clear and comprehensive law should ad-
dress the deprivation of educational, employment, 
and other opportunities on the basis of hair texture 
and hairstyle that are commonly associated with 
race or national origin; 
(3) clear, consistent, and enforceable legal 
standards must be provided to redress the wide-
spread incidences of race and national origin dis-
crimination based upon hair texture and hairstyle in 
schools, workplaces, housing, federally funded insti-
tutions, and other contexts; 
(4) it is necessary to prevent educational, em-
ployment, and other decisions, practices, and policies 
generated by or reflecting negative biases and 
stereotypes related to race or national origin; 
(5) the Federal Government must play a key 
role in enforcing Federal civil rights laws in a way 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
that secures equal educational, employment, and 
other opportunities for all individuals regardless of 
their race or national origin; 
(6) the Federal Government must play a central 
role in enforcing the standards established under 
this Act on behalf of individuals who suffer race or 
national origin discrimination based upon hair tex-
ture and hairstyle; 
(7) it is necessary to prohibit and provide rem-
edies for the harms suffered as a result of race or 
national origin discrimination on the basis of hair 
texture and hairstyle; and 
(8) it is necessary to mandate that school, 
workplace, and other applicable standards be applied 
in a nondiscriminatory manner and to explicitly pro-
hibit the adoption or implementation of grooming re-
quirements that disproportionately impact people of 
African descent. 
(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to institute 
definitions of race and national origin for Federal civil 
rights laws that effectuate the comprehensive scope of pro-
tection Congress intended to be afforded by such laws and 
Congress’ objective to eliminate race and national origin 
discrimination in the United States. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 3. FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—No individual in the United 
States shall be excluded from participation in, be denied 
the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, 
any program or activity receiving Federal financial assist-
ance, based on the individual’s hair texture or hairstyle, 
if that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associ-
ated with a particular race or national origin (including 
a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, 
locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be en-
forced in the same manner and by the same means, includ-
ing with the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was 
incorporated in title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
(42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), and as if a violation of sub-
section (a) was treated as if it was a violation of section 
601 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000d). 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘program or activity’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 606 of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–4a); and 
(2) the terms ‘‘race’’ and ‘‘national origin’’ 
mean, respectively, ‘‘race’’ within the meaning of the 
term in section 601 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 2000d) 
and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning of the 
term in that section 601. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 4. HOUSING PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—No person in the United States 
shall be subjected to a discriminatory housing practice 
based on the person’s hair texture or hairstyle, if that hair 
texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a 
particular race or national origin (including a hairstyle in 
which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, corn-
rows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros). 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be en-
forced in the same manner and by the same means, includ-
ing with the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was 
incorporated in the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 
et seq.), and as if a violation of subsection (a) was treated 
as if it was a discriminatory housing practice. 
(c) DEFINITION.—In this section— 
(1) the terms ‘‘discriminatory housing practice’’ 
and ‘‘person’’ have the meanings given the terms in 
section 802 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
3602); and 
(2) the terms ‘‘race’’ and ‘‘national origin’’ 
mean, respectively, ‘‘race’’ within the meaning of the 
term in section 804 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) 
and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning of the 
term in that section 804. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—No person in the United States 
shall be subjected to a practice prohibited under section 
201, 202, or 203 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
U.S.C. 2000a et seq.), based on the person’s hair texture 
or hairstyle, if that hair texture or that hairstyle is com-
monly associated with a particular race or national origin 
(including a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled or 
tightly curled, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, 
and Afros). 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (a) shall be en-
forced in the same manner and by the same means, includ-
ing with the same jurisdiction, as if such subsection was 
incorporated in title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 
and as if a violation of subsection (a) was treated as if 
it was a violation of section 201, 202, or 203, as appro-
priate, of such Act. 
(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the terms ‘‘race’’ 
and ‘‘national origin’’ mean, respectively, ‘‘race’’ within 
the meaning of the term in section 201 of that Act (42 
U.S.C. 2000a) and ‘‘national origin’’ within the meaning 
of the term in that section 201. 
SEC. 6. EMPLOYMENT. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be an unlawful employ-
ment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor 
organization, or joint labor-management committee con-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:54 May 29, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8191.IH
H8191
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB