119-hr1638

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1638 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

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. 
 McClellan, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mrs. 
Ramirez, 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 Illinois, 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. Velazquez, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Moore 
 of Wisconsin, Ms. Omar, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Frost, and Mr. 
 Jeffries) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and 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 committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To prohibit discrimination based on an individual's texture or style of 
 hair.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 texture 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 opportunities 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.

    (5) Racial and national origin discrimination is reflected 
 in school and workplace policies and practices that bar natural 
 or protective hairstyles commonly 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 description perpetuated 
 derogatory racial stereotypes.

    (8) The United States Armed Forces also recognized that 
 prohibitions against natural or protective hairstyles that 
 African-American servicewomen are commonly adorned with are 
 racially discriminatory 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 interpreted 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. 
 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 related 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 national origin discrimination as inclusive 
 of discrimination on the basis of natural or protective 
 hairstyles commonly associated with race and national origin.

    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) the Federal Government should acknowledge that 
 individuals who have hair texture or wear a hairstyle that is 
 historically and contemporarily associated with African 
 Americans or persons of African 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 address 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 widespread incidences of race and 
 national origin discrimination based upon hair texture and 
 hairstyle in schools, workplaces, housing, federally funded 
 institutions, and other contexts;

    (4) it is necessary to prevent educational, employment, 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 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 texture and hairstyle;

    (7) it is necessary to prohibit and provide remedies 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 prohibit the adoption or 
 implementation of grooming requirements 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 protection Congress intended to 
be afforded by such laws and Congress' objective to eliminate race and 
national origin discrimination in the United States.

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 assistance, based on the individual'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, 
cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros).

    (b) Enforcement.--Subsection

    (a) shall be enforced in the same 
manner and by the same means, including 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 subsection

    (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.

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, 
cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros).

    (b) Enforcement.--Subsection

    (a) shall be enforced in the same 
manner and by the same means, including 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.

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 
commonly 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 enforced in the same 
manner and by the same means, including 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 appropriate, 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 employment practice for 
an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-
management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or 
retraining (including on-the-job training programs) to fail or refuse 
to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate 
against an individual, based on the individual'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, 
cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros).

    (b) Enforcement.--Subsection

    (a) shall be enforced in the same 
manner and by the same means, including with the same jurisdiction, as 
if such subsection was incorporated in title VII of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), and as if a violation of 
subsection

    (a) was treated as if it was a violation of 

section 703 or 
704, as appropriate, of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2, 2000e-3).
            (c) === Definitions. ===
-In this section the terms ``person'', ``race'', 
and ``national origin'' have the meanings given the terms in 

section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e).

SEC. 7. EQUAL RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW.

    (a) In General.--No person in the United States shall be subjected 
to a practice prohibited under 

section 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 
U.S.C. 1981), 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, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, 
and Afros).

    (b) Enforcement.--Subsection

    (a) shall be enforced in the same 
manner and by the same means, including with the same jurisdiction, as 
if such subsection was incorporated in 

section 1977 of the Revised 
Statutes, and as if a violation of subsection

    (a) was treated as if it 
was a violation of that 

section 1977.

SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit definitions of race 
or national origin under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a 
et seq.), the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), or 

section 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981).
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