Over the last 80 years, LDF has witnessed anti-Black racism take many forms, and we have fought each of them head-on. The trend of incidences where Black hairstyles are criminalized, and used to justify the removal children from classrooms, and adults from careers is a real, ongoing & noxious form of racial discrimination. Criminalizing the Black identity is not new to us. LDF plans to use the work of our founder Thurgood Marshall as a blueprint for justice as we press forward, push for the CROWN Act in all 50 states, and litigate a docket of hair discrimination matters to put an end to hair discrimination.
LDF continues to fight for the passage of the CROWN Act and against every form of hair bias alongside the CROWN Coalition. According to the CROWN Coalition:
A Black woman is 80% more likely to change her natural hair to meet social norms or expectations at work.
Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home or know of a Black woman sent home from the workplace because of her hair.
In the US, the law in many states does not currently afford protection for race-based hair discrimination, even if the hairstyle is inherent to racial identity.
In addition to our joint efforts to raise awareness alongside the CROWN Coalition, LDF works with a variety of legislators to pass the CROWN Act at the federal level. We will not stop until Black people are no longer punished for their natural hair or expressions of their Black identity.
LDF will continue to fight against racial bias, no matter what form it takes.