CROWN Act: Embracing Hair-itage

Maren Wilsey, Anya Panday

On Feb. 1, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of hair textures or styles. By adding Minnesota to an expanding list of states passing laws, commonly known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, many have begun to wonder how this may impact the future of academic and professional settings on a state and nationwide level.

Science teacher Alexander Polk said that having curly hair has allowed him to form connections with students who have a similar hair texture.

“Having curly hair has impacted me by letting me have conversations with students about something as simple as, ‘I like your hair,’ and having them give a similar comment back,” Polk said. “It’s helped me connect with students, but beyond that, it hasn’t necessarily impacted me. However, those conversations go deeper than just the comment.”

According to sophomore Jaiden Leary, having curly hair allows attachment to his culture, but it also opens the door to judgment from those around him.

“Being biracial, (hair is) one of the things that helps me attach to Black culture (by) being able to get dreads or curls,” Leary said. “Then being able to get judged by that. I’m on the swim team, I see people stare at me on the opposite side whenever I take my cap off.”

DESIGN BY Alicia Mainjeni

Sophomore Miles Johnson said that growing up around individuals with different hair types than him has impacted his ability to build strong connections.

“It’s definitely had an impact, because growing up around people that don’t really have the same hair texture as you, you don’t have that connection,” Johnson said. “You think that something is different with you that isn’t for everyone else. It shapes how a person views themselves and how they view other people too.”

According to sophomore Lynea Sallet-Smith, having curly hair can discourage her from participating in activities due to the time it takes to properly care for her hair.

“There are certain things that you can do,” Sallet-Smith said. “You can pretty much do everything. But since your hair is curly, after you do an activity, you have to take extra (time) to do your hair. It’s like, ‘Why would you do all that? Just don’t do the activity in the first place.’”

Ryan Johnson, a stylist who specializes in working with curly hair, said that when he was younger he felt his hair was hard to manage, but he’s learned to embrace it with time.

“Fortunately, I work in an industry where showing off natural hair is acceptable,” Johnson said. “But I know that in every workplace it can look (different). I have curly hair. So when I was younger I felt it was always a mess, it wasn’t kept. People feel that it’s more polished if it’s blown out, but I’m all about embracing the natural length as long as it’s kept.”

How the CROWN Act may impact students at Park

Polk said he believes the CROWN Act won’t have a major impact on students, because he hopes Park has done enough to make students feel safe wearing their natural hair already.

“I’d hope that the issue of racial discrimination that the CROWN Act is targeting isn’t impacting students here,” Polk said. “If it is, we have to fix that. The CROWN Act should, and will, impact students on a state level, but I