With a heavy contingency from Philadelphia, Black leaders and state legislators rallied Tuesday in Harrisburg, pushing the state Senate to pass the CROWN Act and ban discrimination on how hair is worn by people, especially women, of color. At the podium is State Rep. La’Tasha Mayes sponsored the legislation. IMAGE/TRIBUNE STAFF
Pennsylvania House Democrats joined leaders in the Black community Tuesday to call on the Senate to advance the CROWN Act and ban discrimination on how hair is worn by people, especially women, of color.
The House passed the legislation that puts hairstyles like braids, Afros, and coils into protection from workplace discrimination by a 182-21 vote on July 7. However, it has not received a hearing in the Senate State Government committee after the referral.
State Rep. La’Tasha Mayes sponsored the legislation and hosted the rally on the Capitol steps. The West Philadelphia native serves in the Pittsburgh district formerly represented by Mayor Ed Gainey thanked her colleagues for the support and encouraged the Republican-led Senate to support her bill as Republicans did in the House.
“This is what we can do when we work together,” she said of the bipartisan support her legislation received in a full chamber vote.
Speaker of the House JoAnna McClinton began this fight in 2019 with Summer Lee, who currently serves in Congress. Her message to the Senate was that this was not just an urban issue.
“We know that there are too many people impacted and affected in every part of the Commonwealth,” she said. “This is a people of Pennsylvania issue because there are people of color in every corner of the Commonwealth, and with that being said, we look forward to our colleagues being able to stand with us.”
About 26 states have some form of a CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair, or other ban on race-based hair discrimination, as do the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, there are still instances of injustice in everyday life. Darin and Julia Smith talked about the trauma their daughter faced after a teacher cut off 20 inches of her hair in November to remove a piece of velcro while in music class at St. Margaret Mary School in Dauphin County.
The teacher did not believe ask the parents for permission and the parents have sued the school, claiming this was a violation of her rights and how the family expresses their Black culture.
Jenni Chavis, vice president of the Epsilon Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. of Harrisburg, recalled being told by college career advisors that she had to relax her hair to look “professional” and conform with employers.
She began to wear her hair naturally after having children and wishing to not spend the time on the relaxing processes. She was concerned about facing a courtroom but overcame her doubts.
“I’m so glad I was able to push past that fear and stand upon performance and talent and education, the things that we say as a society truly do matter,” she said. “Until the rhetoric catches up with our reality, the need for the passage of the Pennsylvania CROWN Act is so important.”
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