CBA Record May-June 2025

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Pictured: Nina Fain and Tracy Sanders Rucker

Illinois CROWN Act: The Intersection of Natural Hair and the Law By Judge Jasmine V. Hernandez, Circuit Court of Cook County, and CBA Record Editorial Board Member

T he CBA recently hosted a panel discussion that explored the evo lution and significance of natu ral hair in society, business, and the law. Panelists included Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter; TiShaunda McPher son, senior counsel at Loftus Eisenberg; Michael Vernon, Staff Attorney at the Illinois Department of Human Rights; and attorney and author Tracy Sanders Rucker. Nina Fain, a CBA Record Edito rial Board member, moderated the panel. Fain’s introduction highlighted the his torical and cultural significance of Black hair. She explained how hair is a powerful expression of Black identity and culture. She also shared how, after the abolition of slavery, entrepreneurial African Ameri cans transformed their own methods of hair care into a multibillion-dollar hair industry—an industry with deep roots in Illinois. For example, Annie Malone started her Black hair care product busi ness in Peoria and marketed it at the 1903 St. Louis World’s Fair. Other long-term Black hair care businesses, such as SoftS heen, got their start in Chicago.

Protection for Natural Hair in the Workplace

In Illinois, the CROWN Act supple ments federal protections. Enacted in June 2022, the Act expands the term “race” to include traits associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles. The CROWN Act protects a person’s decision to wear natural hairstyles, such as braids, in the workplace. Previously, such protections extended only to schools, under the Jett Hawkins Law, Illinois Public Act 102-0360. The Jett Hawkins Law, which took effect six months before the CROWN Act in January 2022, “prohibits discrimina tion against hairstyles historically associ ated with race, ethnicity, or hair texture” in schools. The CROWN Act prohibits that same discrimination in the workplace. More over, its protection extends to other situ ations covered under the Illinois Human Rights Act, including employment, hous ing, financial transactions, and public accommodations. When Illinois Governor JB Pritz ker signed the CROWN Act into law, he commented, “Hair isn’t just deeply

Sanders Rucker introduced the issues and laws that were the focus of the presenta tion. Founder of “Natural Hair and the Law,” an organization that educates the public regarding legal issues involving natural hair in different spaces, Sanders Rucker has devoted her career to advo cating for equal treatment of natural hair in workplaces and schools. She began her presentation by asking attendees their thoughts about the importance of grooming and dress in the workplace. She explained that issues involving hair fall under grooming codes; it is legally relevant because of employment law and constitutional issues that arise when con sidering issues of freedom of expression and bodily integrity. Sanders Rucker then introduced the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) and discussed how it provides greater protec tions for those who choose to wear their natural hair and protected styles in the workplace.

12 May/June 2025