What is hair discrimination and would the CROWN Act eliminate it?

• Aniya Faulcon
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Aniya Faulcon is The Spark Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.
  
  Previously she worked as the People and Social Trends Reporter/Video Anchor for LancasterOnline | LNPNews. During her time there, she created video packages, provided Facebook Live coverage at community events, and wrote data-driven stories with census data and feature stories on local leaders, non-profit organizations, events, and people with unique talents and experiences within Lancaster County.
  
  Aniya also worked at WMAR ABC 2 News as a Sales Assistant and at the AFRO American Newspapers as an Executive Assistant and Media correspondent. Aniya interned at WEAA Gospel Grace 88.9 and worked at her alma mater’s radio station, WWPJ at Point Park University, where she gained skills and a passion for radio.
  
  Aniya grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore School for the arts for high school with a concentration in acting. She continued to hone her skills and passion for storytelling and later graduated from Point Park University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Broadcast Reporting. Aniya is eager to continue her journey with storytelling in her role with WITF, as she aims to shed a light on real people and real stories within Pennsylvania in a variety of mediums.

Afro couple in studio

Airdate: July 13, 2022

The Crown Act stands for creating a respectful and open world for natural hair. If the bill passes, it will ban race-based hair discrimination in employment and for those participating in federally assisted programs, housing programs, and public accommodations. It would also protect people against bias based on hair texture and protective styles like cornrows, braids, twists, bantu knots, locs, afros, and more.

The Crown Act bill was introduced last year in the Pennsylvania house of representatives and there was a rally last month in Harrisburg to see a version of the CROWN Act passed but there still hasn’t been full house action.

According to a 2019 study commissioned by Dove, a co-founder of the CROWN coalition, Black women are 80% more likely to believe that they must change their natural hair to “fit in at the office”. The same study found that Black women’s hair was over three times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional.

Wednesday’s guest on Smart Talk is Winnie Okello, founder and owner of Winnie O. Media LLC, which houses the cosmetic science review and the harassment and assault reporting platform, about the Crown Act bill, its importance, and her personal experience with hair discrimination as an African American woman.