Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – November 19, 2025 – Today, the Pennsylvania Senate passed the CROWN Act (HB439) by a vote of 44 to 3. This legislation ensures that no one in Pennsylvania will be denied access to professional, educational, or public spaces and opportunities because of their hair type, texture, or style.
In September 2020, after the CROWN Act was passed in the US House of Representatives, Senator Hughes joined then-Representatives Joanna McClinton and Summer Lee to introduce legislation to amend the AP Human Relations Act. Most recently, Senator Hughes supported the endorsement of Representative La’Tasha Mayes, Speaker Joanna McClinton, and the entire coalition of HB 439 co-sponsors as they worked to introduce the CROWN Act in both chambers of the state legislature.
“This law tackles discrimination,” said Senator Hughes. “Natural hair is beautiful. This law protects Pennsylvanians by dispelling any belief that natural hairstyles are inappropriate for professional, educational or public use.”
HB439’s lead sponsor, Rep. Mayes, explained: “I am very excited that my legislation to end hair discrimination on the basis of race has passed the Senate with sturdy bipartisan support. The CROWN Act is a long-term fight toward the overall goal of ending this insidious discrimination in our community that impacts the lives and livelihoods of Pennsylvania students, workers and residents simply because they grow hair on their heads. I want to thank Speaker McClinton for her tireless efforts – long before I became a member of the AP House of Representatives – to keep this bill in the House and Senate, which now goes to the Governor’s desk. I also want to thank Senator Hughes for championing this legislation from the beginning and championing its passage in the Senate.
Senator Hughes added, “I want to thank my constituent, Dr. Adjoa B. Asamoah, for her fierce support of this issue across the country. Pennsylvania now joins many other states in passing this anti-discrimination legislation because Dr. Asamoah has been so deeply involved in this movement.”
“For almost 8 years in a row, I have worked tirelessly with leaders across the country to change the law and culture and mitigate the psychological, economic and physical harm caused by race-based hair discrimination,” said Dr. Adjoa B. Asamoah, a two-time Temple alumna who leads the national CROWN Act Coalition. “Grooming policies that reinforce Eurocentric standards of beauty and professionalism perpetuate racial exclusion and inequality. Because deciding on a public policy approach was necessary to address race-based hair discrimination, and then developing statewide legislative, social, and coalition-building strategies for the movement in 2018, I became committed to ensuring the CROWN Act became law in Pennsylvania. Senator Hughes is my senator and an early supporter of this work, and I am truly grateful for his partnership and leadership.”
As of September 2024, 27 states, including New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Nebraska and Texas, have bipartisan provisions and protections under the CROWN Act. In Pennsylvania, both the City of Philadelphia and the City of Pittsburgh have already adopted the CROWN Act.
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