Governor Josh Shapiro has signed into law the CROWN Act in Pennsylvania, preventing workplaces and schools from discriminating against people based on hair type. Dr. Adjoa Asamoah, the champion of the act, calls it her “brain child” and has been working since 2018 to change discriminatory practices. It’s a welcomed change, for sure. Why should any child, especially minorities, be treated differently for their hair type? And to think it was affecting school attendance, too!
Shared by ABC News on TikTok, Asamoah says, “For too long, a myopic notion of professionalism, and Eurocentric standards of beauty have perpetuated racial inequity and exclusion. Too many black children have been suspended and missed what should be valuable instruction time,” and all it took was wearing your hair a certain way. One brave black American took the stand to tell her personal story.
Lorraine Ruley is the owner of Island Design Natural Hair Studio. Growing up, she always had natural hair and used styles like braids and twists to style her hair. Speaking with clients at her studio, she found a lot of people of color weren’t permitted to wear their hair how they wanted to in the workplace. In one case, she was told by a client, “Lorraine, I had to take these braids out. I have a job interview.”
Another client told her, “Lorraine, they’re talking about me. I had to cut my locs because of my job. You know, they’re saying it’s unprofessional to have locs.”
As Josh Shapiro goes on to say, “This is an issue that disproportionately affects black Pennsylvanians,” leading to being fired or denied a job. All it takes is wearing your hair a certain way, and further increasing the number of unemployed Americans. Just in October 2025, Amazon had a massive layoff of 30,000 jobs!
“The fact that we need legislation to prevent racial discrimination is wild,” one commenter stated. And it’s true, but you’d be surprised what kind of clauses get added into an otherwise unrelated law.
“This is a long overdue step toward equity and dignity. No one should ever face discrimination because of their natural hair or cultural expression,” said another. It’s simply a sneaky way to cause material harm to others, especially minorities.
Governor Shapiro says it’s “unacceptable” for people to be treated differently due to the way they want to express their culture. And with that, the law has been signed into place, and will take effect in January 2026. And to think something as silly as hairstyle could have such an impact. It’s a loophole worth closing!
