Poem: My Roots, My Crown, My Hair-a-tage©️Dawn Minott |in honor of National Crown Day, July 3rd

On By Dawn MinottIn Poetry

Before-word: There’s a day for that?! Oh yes there is! Why? FACT—“Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair”.

National Crown Day commemorates the inaugural signing of the first CROWN Act legislation, which passed in California on July 3, 2019. The CROWN Act stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.”

My Roots, My Crown, My Hair-a-tage©

It’s my style
It’s the epitome of the expression of self

It’s rooted in my history
It’s the connector with my ancestry

It speaks for me
It’s the tenet of my collective story

It defines who I am
It’s the liberation of my identity

It classifies me
It’s the evolving of my destiny

It changes with me
It’s the expression of my ideology

It identifies my lineage
It’s the preservation of my hair-a-tage

I am my hair
My hair is undisputedly, ME

After-word: The Crown Act is a law that prohibits discrimination based on hairstyle and hair texture. Currently 7 states have passed it (including California, New York, New Jersey, Washington). Cincinnati and Montgomery County in Maryland have adopted the law. Nine states are currently considering it (they include Georgia, Kansas, Connecticut, Louisiana). This means it’s legal in most states to discriminate against someone simply because they wear their hair in an Afro, locs, braids, or any other traditionally Black hairstyles.

To act in solidarity against hair discrimination you can use the hashtag #PassTheCrown on social media. And, you can sign the petition—click HERE—to encourage all states to pass the Crown Act and make hair discrimination illegal everywhere.

2022 ©Dawn Minott All rights reserved

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In creative solidarity, Dee

16 thoughts on “Poem: My Roots, My Crown, My Hair-a-tage©️Dawn Minott |in honor of National Crown Day, July 3rd”

  3. harripat

    Dawn, thanks for educating me about the CROWN Act. I could not wait to relax my hair. I now wear sister locks but after I had abused and damaged my hair. I wish that I had caught the vision sooner. My granddaughters have beautiful thick hair. I compliment them on their beautiful natural hair all the time in the hope that they will love and appreciate their hair.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Absolutely Harri. We weren’t taught to love our natural hair. Now we are more enlightened and empowered to celebrate Black hair as beautiful with all its kinks and coils. So happy you’re paving the way for your G-Ds to love their crown. One black girl by one black girl we’re getting there!! Appreciate you 💗🙏🏽💗

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  4. Wow and wow and wow!
    You really have expressed it so well Dee😁 I felt it when you said your hair survived it all… Isn’t it so African, ironically? Come to think of it, what Africans have survived and still do to date. Unimaginable strength which is undeniably admirable.
    And that poem at the end… That’s really beautiful. As an African, it spoke to me directly.
    Thank you❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m so happy you appreciated it Jermena (i didn’t want to impose). Yes I see a very close connection between my hair and my Africanness and I celebrate both for RESILIENCE and bounce-back-ability. Thanks for reading and engaging with this piece. Cheers, Dee

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. Anonymous

    Mi like it; esecially since I always say I AM my hair; in ANY shape, length, texture, style I CHOOSE to wear it!! Our hair is personal; it calls for no one else’s idea of how we should wear it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Pingback: Ode To My Hair© – createdbyDEEsign

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