On June 9, 2022, the Austin City Council unanimously voted to pass what is known as a CROWN Act, a law prohibiting discrimination based on a person's hair texture or hairstyle. CROWN stands for "Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair." Consequently, the Austin City Code will be revised to prohibit discrimination based on protective hairstyle in housing, public accommodations, and employment. Protective hairstyles are those necessitated by, or resulting from, the characteristics of a hair texture or hairstyle commonly associated with race, national origin, ethnicity, or culture, and include but are not limited to afros, Bantu knots, braids, cornrows, curls, locs, twists, or hair that is tightly coiled or tightly curled.
The CROWN Act was first introduced in California in 2019 to eliminate hair discrimination across the country as part of a national movement driven by the CROWN Coalition. CROWN Acts, or similar legislation, has since been enacted in Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington—legislation awaits the signatures of the governors of Alaska, Illinois, and Louisiana. A number of cities and counties have also passed CROWN Acts, including Michigan (Ann Arbor, Ingham County, and Genesee County) and Wisconsin (Dane County and Milwaukee). In March, the United States House passed the CROWN Act ( H.R. 2116). The Act was sent to the Senate where it was...
Russia's Defense Ministry is reporting alleged battlefield successes on Max, but some of its claims lack evidence. Even Russian military bloggers are questioning claims that Ukrainian forces have ...