John,

I know you’ve been getting quite a few emails from me, but I wanted to follow up on my email from yesterday.

In a nation that is known as a melting pot of people from all corners of the world and walks of life, it’s important that those people are able to represent their culture without discrimination.

Yet, even as our fight for justice and equality presses on, women of color still experience exclusion and bias all for wearing their hair naturally or in ways that embrace African-American culture. Enough is enough.

Everyone should feel empowered when wearing natural or cultural hairstyles and not be forced to assimilate to white beauty standards. Will you read my previous email below, then co-sign your name in support of the CROWN Act today?

CO-SIGN HERE

Thanks for your signature today.

In solidarity,

Barbara Lee

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John,

Here I am in Miami in 1972 as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention with Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm... and here I am in 2020:

While the DNC might have looked a little different this year, some things never change. We are still in the midst of the fight for justice, equality, and the right to wear our natural hair.

Black women are still more likely to be passed up for a job opportunity and 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from work because of the natural, cultural ways we wear our hair.

Over 80% of women feel forced to change their hair from its natural state to assimilate to the white beauty standards that still exist in modern-day office culture. Enough is enough.

Racial and cultural discrimination has no place in our schools, workplaces, or country. It’s why my colleagues and I introduced the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act to protect people from discrimination for wearing their natural hair.

While the CROWN act has been signed into law in several states, including our very own California, there are still forty-three more to go. So, I’m asking:

Will you sign on as a citizen co-sponsor to my CROWN act today? I've been wearing my natural hair for decades, and everyone else should feel empowered to wear theirs, too.

CO-SIGN HERE

Your signature today means the world to me. Thank you for everything you do.

In solidarity,

Barbara Lee