LEWISBURG, W.V. (LOOTPRESS) – During Tuesday evening’s regular meeting, the Lewisburg City Council passed the first reading of the CROWN ordinance, also known as Ordinance 291.
The CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” was formed by Dove and the CROWN Coalition in 2019.
Since its creation, the CROWN Act has become law in eight states. In 2020, 25 states, including West Virginia, considered but did not pass the CROWN Act, which has led cities to create and pass their own versions of the ordinance.
Morgantown was the first to pass the CROWN ordinance in March of 2021, Beckley followed by passing the ordinance less than two weeks ago.
According to Lewisburg’s ordinance, approval of the CROWN Act would allow the city to amend certain provisions of the Lewisburg City Code to clarify that race discrimination includes discrimination based on certain hair textures and styles.
Councilmember Arron Seams was the one who brought the ordinance to council and asked that it be put on the agenda.
“I felt it was important to introduce Ordinance 291 at Lewisburg City Council to address one of the ways in which discrimination impacts our society,” Seams said. “Negative reactions to natural hairstyles or toward individuals who wear their hair in a way that is culturally significant to their identity is used as a shortcut or justification for oppression, particularly against BIPOC individuals. Unfortunately, since our country is fraught with instances of racial tension, discrimination, and violence, it is clear that we have not learned enough from those lessons.”
Seams expressed the importance of the ordinance, stating that it isn’t hard to protect against discrimination and it “costs nothing to treat others with respect.”
“This ordinance will show to our residents and visitors that Lewisburg is a community that values working together and finding common ground, a community that appreciates and respects our individual identities and the richness that our differences contribute to each other’s lives. But, most importantly, it will show that Lewisburg is unafraid to provide real and actionable recourse to those harmed by discrimination, and that Lewisburg will not tolerate hair discrimination as a proxy for racial discrimination.”
The second and final reading of the Lewisburg CROWN ordinance will be read during the city’s council’s June meeting.
