CROWN Act empowering more people to express themselves with natural hair
BOSTON - Last July, Massachusetts became the 17th state to sign the CROWN Act into law. Now, it's helping people feel confident in who they are.
The act, which stands for "Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair," prohibits discrimination in schools and work places based on natural and protective hairstyles.
"As a black person, that's [hair] something that you use for your identity," Deanna Cook told WBZ-TV.
Cook and her sister Mya worked to create history — or in this case hair-story.
"A couple of people have told us they feel like they can wear locs or their braids and stuff at work and it makes me so happy that they know they can wear it and won't get in trouble," Mya Cook explained.
As high school sophomores, Mya and Deanna were punished for the braided hairstyle they wore to school for the first time. At the time, the style was banned.
"I wish maybe instead they tried to teach everyone about box braids and black hair and they turned into a learning experience instead of something negative," Mya said.
After being reprimanded, the sisters fought back against the school, clearing the way for the CROWN act to become law.
"To be honest I wore my hair in box braids growing up so I didn't see what the issue was with the box braids. I wanted to stand up for something that was right," Massachusetts State Rep. Chynah Tyler told WBZ. She was one of the key sponsors of the act in Massachusetts. "I hope it empowers more young girls to be able to express themselves through their hair how they like."
As a way of promoting self-love, Sharita Payton opened The Loft Hair Studio in Medford, a salon dedicated to styling natural hair.
"I opened it mainly for my daughters," she said. "I wanted them to have a place and space where they can come, they would be able to see themselves and other natural young girls, women who they can aspire to be."
Payton grew up hearing negative comments about her hair, which she and her family wore naturally. According to the Dove CROWN Act study, 86% of Black girls experienced hair discrimination by age 12.
"It's sad because it's beautiful," Payton said. "You can look around the salon we have clients coming from different backgrounds and textures and see how beautiful our hair is."
She wants curly-haired people to embrace ways to take care of their natural hair and ultimately, love their crown.
Though the CROWN act has passed in Massachusetts, the effort to make it federal law is still ongoing. The bill passed in the House but is stalled in the Senate.