The landmark CROWN Act failed in the House of Representatives on Monday (February 28) –– the last day of Black History Month –– after 188 Republicans voted against it. The CROWN Act bans hair discrimination in places of employment, education, and more.
One of those Republicans, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado called the CROWN Act the "bad hair bill" from the House Floor.
The legislation didn't have the necessary two-thirds majority needed for an expedited vote process, causing it to fail. House Democrats vowed to get the anti-discrimination bill back on the floor for a vote in the coming weeks.
"We won't allow Republican antics to stand in the way of Black people having the right to live as their authentic selves," Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Barbara Lee, Gwen Moore, Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar said in a statement, The Huffington Post reported.
Watson Coleman responded to Boebert spoke to the importance of banning hair discrimination, stating that Black people are "far too often ... derided or deemed unprofessional simply because their hair does not conform to white beauty standards."
"Our natural hair is as innate a quality of Black people as the presence of melanin in our skin," she added. "Discriminating against our hair is no different is no different than discriminating against the color of our skin."
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