Creating A Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the CROWN Act because all hair is professional hair.

While serving in the Georgia State Senate, a colleague greeted me with what she thought was a compliment. After spending most of the legislative session in braids, I had my natural hair pressed straight. She told me, Nikema, you should keep your hair that way. It looks better, more professional, more like a State Senator.

Remarks like this are all too familiar for Black women and girls; unacceptable on their own, but the outright discrimination that flows from them is worse. If I didn't work for the people in Congress, I know that I could be fired simply for wearing my hair in braids.

Nothing about this is okay, so I make it a point to create an environment where my team feels comfortable wearing their crowns in every texture.

Everybody deserves this level of safety, no matter where they work. Our hair is an expression of our authentic selves. Braids, locs, coils, or a silk press, all hair is professional hair.

Discrimination has no place in America; that includes discriminating against Black hair. The CROWN Act would make race-based hair discrimination a thing of the past, once and for all, and that is why we should pass it today.

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