Massachusetts: The CROWN Act (HD.4501)
Adopted: October 2022 Bill Number: HD.4501 Governor: Charlie Baker Status: Enacted
Massachusetts enacted its CROWN Act in October 2022 when Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, signed HD.4501. The legislation made Massachusetts the twentieth state to adopt CROWN Act protections, a milestone that marked two-fifths of US states reaching explicit hair discrimination coverage.
Key Provisions
Massachusetts General Laws amendment. HD.4501 amends the state’s anti-discrimination framework to include natural hair texture and protective hairstyles, including braids, locs, twists, cornrows, Bantu knots, and Afros, within the definition of race.
Employment, education, and housing. The legislation covers employment, education, housing, and public accommodation, consistent with Massachusetts’s comprehensive anti-discrimination framework.
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The MCAD has jurisdiction over hair-related discrimination complaints under the amended statute.
Massachusetts Context
Massachusetts’s adoption carried particular weight given the state’s concentration of universities, hospitals, and major employers. Boston’s position as a centre for higher education, healthcare, financial services, and technology means that the legislation’s impact extends to institutions with national and international influence.
The state’s approximately 570,000 Black residents, concentrated in Boston, Springfield, and Worcester, had advocated for explicit protections. Boston’s history as both a centre of abolitionism and a city grappling with racial segregation gave the legislation historical resonance.
Governor Baker’s signature continued the pattern of Republican governors endorsing hair discrimination protections. Massachusetts joining the CROWN Act roster at the twentieth-state milestone demonstrated the movement’s broad and deepening reach. For the full progression, see the CROWN Act timeline.
For analysis of the research evidence that drove legislative action, see Data Behind the CROWN Act.
For detailed legal analysis of Massachusetts’s CROWN Act provisions, contact [email protected].