[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H4653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THOSE WHO DON CROWNS OF ALL TYPES

  (Ms. PRESSLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the CROWN 
Act, which will move us one step closer to ending the centuries of 
discrimination against Black hair, discrimination that has rejected the 
dignity and beauty of my people.
  From personnel handbooks to school dress code policies, Afros, locs, 
and twists have been codified as proxies for our Black skin and 
manifestations of anti-Black racism.
  Many, especially Black women, grow up hearing that our natural coils 
and kinks are distracting, ghetto, ugly, and unprofessional. From as 
early as grade school, Black girls are pushed out of school for wearing 
their hair naturally. As we grow up, we are taught to straighten our 
hair if we want to get a job or simply live our lives in peace.
  When I first joined Congress, I proudly chose to wear my hair in 
Senegalese twists because I sought to intentionally create space for 
all of us to show up in the world as our authentic selves.
  Today, I navigate the world a little differently. My beautiful twists 
were taken from me due to the autoimmune disease known as alopecia 
universalis.
  But today, I stand in honor of those who don crowns of all types. May 
they continue to shine.

                          ____________________