WHEREAS, There have been countless cases where people of color have been discriminated against for wearing natural hair and/or protective styles, including but not limited to braids, locs, twists, Bantu knots, Afros, and more; and
WHEREAS, Hairstyle discrimination has included being fired from one’s job, passed over for promotions, humiliated in school, and excluded from sports teams; and
WHEREAS, In order to ensure protections against hairstyle discrimination, Dove and the CROWN Coalition partnered with legislators at the local, state, and federal level to pass the C.R.O.W.N. Act; and
WHEREAS, Since 2019, nineteen states and forty-four cities have enacted the C.R.O.W.N. Act; and
WHEREAS, In 2020, Philadelphia became the first city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to pass their own C.R.O.W.N. Act; and
WHEREAS; Philadelphia’s C.R.O.W.N. Act prohibits racial discrimination on the basis of hair texture and styles of hair of any length, such as protective or cultural hairstyles, natural hairstyles, and other forms of hair presentation. Protective and cultural hairstyles include braids, cornrows, locs, Bantu knots, Afros, and twists, whether or not hair extensions are used to create any such style, and whether or not hair is adorned by hair ornaments, such as ribbon, headwraps, beads or barrettes; and
WHEREAS, In 2021, Pennsylvania Senator Hughes and Pennsylvania Representative McClinton introduced the C.R.O.W.N. Act in the Senate and House, but the legislation has not yet made it to the floor for a full vote; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is hosting the C.R.O.W.N. Conference on October 27, 2022 to bring awareness to hair bias and discrimination in Pennsylvania; now, therefore, be it,
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby welcomes the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to Philadelphia on October 27, 2022 for their C.R.O.W.N. Conference to address and bring awareness to hair bias and discrimination in Pennsylvania.
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