Pa. House passes bill outlawing discrimination based on hairstyles

Discrimination based on a person’s hairstyle could be outlawed in Pennsylvania, in an effort to protect Black residents who wear their hair in natural or protective styles.

Currently, state law does not prevent discrimination based on hair type, texture or style in places of employment, schools or other public settings. Black people, and particularly Black women, have long faced discrimination for wearing their hair in styles such as Afros, braids, locs, twists, or knots.

“Black Pennsylvanians are experiencing the indignities of having to justify their natural hair,” said Rep. La’Tasha Mayes (D., Allegheny), who sponsored the bill. “There is a prevailing norm that to be professional, valuable, acceptable and respectable, your hair has to look a certain way … a Eurocentric standard.”

The CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, would add hair type, texture, and style as a protected class in the state’s anti-discrimination law. It does not preclude any health, safety, or grooming standards in the workplace.

The bill will now go to the Republican-controlled Senate, which must also pass it before it could go to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature. If the measure becomes law, Pennsylvania would join a growing number of states and cities that have moved to outlaw hair discrimination; at least 23 other states have passed their own versions of the CROWN Act.

The bill passed the House with wide bipartisan support, 181-21.

Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) introduced the proposal in 2019 and 2021, but it did not get a vote under House Republican leadership. Democrats took control of the House earlier this year by a narrow majority.

“Although I was told for four years that there were no Republican votes for it, I am thrilled that on today there were plenty of votes for it,” McClinton told reporters Friday. “Each of us represent people of color.”

McClinton originally worked on the legislation with U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D., Pa.), when she was still in the state House. Lee is now working on federal CROWN Act legislation.

“I could not be more excited that the Pa. House has passed our bill to end hair discrimination and make respect for beautiful Black hair law in our commonwealth,” Lee said in a statement. “My Sister Rep turned Speaker McClinton and I introduced the Crown Act in the State House after a student in my district was told ‘change your hair or go home.’”

In floor debate on the issue Thursday, at least one Republican member called the legislation “frivolous” as budget negotiations remain stalled.

“For my colleagues who think this is unnecessary or frivolous, try being a Black person in Pennsylvania on any given day,” Mayes said Friday, before the bill’s final passage.

Rep. Craig Williams (R., Delaware) asked his majority-white colleagues to imagine what their lives would be like as a Black person.

“Stop for a moment before you cast this vote and try to see the world through a different lens,” Williams said. “You can be a good person and disagree, but you can’t be a good person and call this frivolous.”

Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R., Lawrence) spoke up because his family is in the process of adopting two biracial children.

“This is something I would not have understood a year ago,” Bernstine said. “The truth is, we need to continue to be open-minded about these types of issues.”

A spokesperson for the Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) could not immediately be reached for comment Friday about whether the Senate would consider the bill when members return from summer recess.

DaniRae Renno is an intern with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association.