Skip to main content

CROWN Act

Meaning ❉ The CROWN Act establishes legal protections against discrimination based on hair texture and styles frequently worn by individuals of Black or mixed heritage. This legislation provides a clear framework for understanding that hair, in its natural forms—such as coils, locs, braids, and twists—is a valid and respected presentation within schools and workplaces. For those seeking structured hair care, the Act supports systematization by removing barriers that might otherwise compel individuals to alter their hair’s natural state for professional or academic acceptance. It permits the practical application of care routines and styling choices aligned with hair health and cultural identity, without fear of adverse consequences. This legal measure grounds the ability to present one’s hair authentically, ensuring personal styling decisions align with inherent hair needs and cultural expression rather than prescriptive societal norms.

A monochromatic portrait showcases a Black woman adorned with a towering crown of intricate braids, emphasizing the beauty and heritage of textured hair artistry. Her poised gaze and elegant white attire highlight the interplay of light and shadow, evoking strength, cultural richness, and timeless beauty.

Historical Discrimination

Meaning ❉ Historical discrimination is a deeply ingrained system of prejudice, suppression, and devaluation against textured hair and its ancestral practices.
Roothea Roothea
A group of women are depicted tending to their textured hair, freshly cleansed, in a sunlit outdoor setting. Their diverse afro hairstyles, ranging from tight coils to flowing spirals, are framed by their hands. The scene celebrates the beauty and ancestral heritage of Black and mixed-race hair.

Racial Hair Prejudice

Meaning ❉ Racial Hair Prejudice refers to adverse treatment or discrimination based on textured hair and culturally significant hairstyles, rooted in historical devaluation of Black and mixed-race hair.
Roothea Roothea
A striking black and white studio portrait presents a person with tightly coiled hair cascading from a sculpted, tapered haircut featuring shaved detailing. The composition emphasizes their sharp features, accentuated by nuanced interplay of light and shadow and bold sartorial choice. This imagery speaks to contemporary Black hair traditions.

Military Hair Standards

Meaning ❉ Military Hair Standards are institutional appearance guidelines evolving from rigid norms to acknowledge and respect diverse hair textures and cultural heritages.
Roothea Roothea
A close-up reveals the complex, porous structure of black obsidian mirroring textured hair's diverse forms, coils, and patterns. This volcanic glass inspires holistic hair product formulations addressing moisture retention and scalp health in natural afro hair practices, representing heritage and ancestral care methods.

Hair Stigma

Meaning ❉ Hair Stigma signifies the negative societal biases and discrimination faced by individuals with textured hair, especially those of Black and mixed heritage, rooted deeply in colonial histories and impacting identity.
Roothea Roothea
A black and white portrait features a child with tightly coiled hair styled into sections adorned with decorative beads, showcasing a blend of ancestral heritage and expressive styling. The even lighting accentuates delicate facial features, highlighting the intersection of identity, culture, and personal expression within textured hair narratives.

Hair Heritage Struggle

Meaning ❉ The Hair Heritage Struggle is the enduring contest over the meaning, appearance, and acceptance of Black and mixed-race textured hair, deeply rooted in ancestral practices and ongoing cultural resilience.
Roothea Roothea
The image presents a stylist meticulously parting textured hair using metal implements and string, highlighting precision and expertise. The monochrome palette emphasizes the hair's intricate pattern, contrasting textures, and the focused energy of traditional hair care practices. Light sculpts the form, illuminating the delicate work of sectioning.

Cultural Hair Freedom

Meaning ❉ Cultural Hair Freedom is the right to express identity and heritage through hair, free from systemic discrimination and historical oppression.
Roothea Roothea
A black and white portrait features a child with tightly coiled hair styled into sections adorned with decorative beads, showcasing a blend of ancestral heritage and expressive styling. The even lighting accentuates delicate facial features, highlighting the intersection of identity, culture, and personal expression within textured hair narratives.

Forced Dehumanization

Meaning ❉ Forced Dehumanization systematically strips identity by altering culturally significant hair, denying inherent beauty and disrupting ancestral connections.
Roothea Roothea
This striking black and white portrait presents a young, bald Black woman. A pair of parallel lines shaved into the scalp offers a geometric accent. Stark light and shadow define her delicate features, emphasizing high cheekbones. Her skin glows, and her eyes gaze down, conveying introspection and powerful elegance.

Hair Heritage Justice

Meaning ❉ Hair Heritage Justice is the principled pursuit of equity, honor, and freedom for textured hair and its ancestral cultural expressions.
Roothea Roothea
A striking black and white portrait reveals a young woman's commanding gaze, framed by a meticulously shaped afro that showcases the innate beauty and intricate structure of Black textured hair. The stark contrast highlights her elegant features, while the close crop emphasizes her cultural pride, ancestral heritage, and natural hair journey.

Cultural Legislation

Meaning ❉ Cultural Legislation defines the formal and informal rules shaping hair practices, deeply influencing textured hair heritage and identity.
Roothea Roothea
Black and white portrait showcasing a woman with artfully arranged dreadlocks, styled upwards and outwards. The interplay of light and shadow accentuates the texture of the hair, her skin, and the mesh top. The image evokes modern Black hair artistry and cultural expression.

Hair Discrimination Battle

Meaning ❉ The Hair Discrimination Battle is the enduring fight for dignity, cultural affirmation, and equitable treatment for individuals with textured hair against systemic bias and historical oppression.
Roothea Roothea
A black and white studio portrait showcases a woman with dark skin and locs, some adorned with bright accents. The locs frame her face, partially obscuring one side. Her expression is serene yet intense, highlighted by a beam of light across her face. She wears an off-the-shoulder top, emphasizing her décolletage and the textures of her hair with ancestral heritage significance.

Black Hair Oppression

Meaning ❉ Black Hair Oppression denotes systemic discrimination and societal pressures against textured hair, deeply rooted in historical subjugation and Eurocentric beauty ideals.
Roothea Roothea
Close up portrays hands carefully placing herbs into a bowl of steaming liquid, set amongst other vessels. Shadow and light enhance the herbal infusion preparation, a potent visual narrative of holistic hair care traditions, embracing ancestral knowledge of textured hair well-being.

Hair Freedom Movement

Meaning ❉ The Hair Freedom Movement is a profound affirmation of self-determination through hair, deeply connected to ancestral heritage and cultural identity.
Roothea Roothea
A compelling black and white portrait showcases a Black woman, her lustrous skin illuminated by strategic lighting. The focus rests on her expertly styled, sculptural hair—a testament to textured hair artistry. Her sleek shirt contrasts subtly against the dark backdrop, inviting nuanced appreciation of beauty and form.

Beauty Decolonization

Meaning ❉ Beauty Decolonization dismantles Eurocentric beauty standards by celebrating the historical significance and cultural legacy of textured Black and mixed-race hair.
Roothea Roothea
A monochrome portrait reveals a young girl adorned with twin afro puffs, showcasing high-density coils formed into expressive styles. The image highlights the natural volume of textured hair, emphasizing low porosity, and the significance of embracing cultural heritage through ancestral styles. Holistic care promotes sebaceous balance for healthy hair formation.

Antinomian Hair

Meaning ❉ Antinomian Hair defines textured hair's intrinsic defiance of imposed norms, celebrating its heritage and sovereign identity through ancestral practices.
Roothea Roothea
A striking black and white portrait captures a woman facing forward, adorned with a meticulously wrapped head covering, showcasing its complex fabric folds her eyes hold a deep gaze under shaped eyebrows, highlighting facial symmetry the image resonates with themes of heritage, resilience, and mindful self expression.

Dreadlock Discrimination

Meaning ❉ Dreadlock discrimination is the prejudiced treatment of individuals wearing locs, rooted in Eurocentric biases against textured hair and cultural expression.
Roothea Roothea