Career Practitioner Conversations with NCDA
Career Practitioner Conversations with NCDA
The CROWN Act: Natural Hair in the Workplace with Dr. Whitney Swann
This episode is part of Dr. Lakeisha Mathews's Presidential Series focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This conversation with Dr. Whitney Swann focuses on natural hair in the workplace. Lakeisha and Whitney share their own experiences, explore strategies for career development professionals and job seekers, and issue a call to action to support the The CROWN Act - which stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair" - a legislative movement to ensure protection against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles.
Whitney Swann, PhD, LCMHC, NCC, is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Board-Certified Counselor in North Carolina. She has over eight years of clinical experience counseling children and adults, as well as couples and families, in various settings including higher education, residential treatment, and private practice. As a scholar-practitioner, she is an advocate of centering marginalized communities and the deleterious effects of sociopolitical oppression on mental health, emotional well-being, and career development. Currently, Dr. Swann is a Behavioral Health Case Manager providing consultation and support for workers seeking short-term disability and serves as an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Counseling and Family Therapy at Capella University.
Connect with Whitney Swann:
- Website: http://whitneyswann.weebly.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drwhitneyswann
Read: Natural Hair is Good Hair: The CROWN Act and Ending Hair Discrimination in the Workplace , NCDA's Career Convergence Web Magazine - by Whitney Swann
Additional Resources:
- The CROWN Act website: https://www.thecrownact.com/
- The CROWN Act on Instagram: @thecrownact
- National CROWN Day - July 3rd - https://www.pbs.org/video/crown-day-1656695409/
- History of race-based hair discrimination: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=19d5a9c7-fd45-4bdb-bdde-ce2d10dceede
- Legal Defense Fund – Natural Hair Discrimination: https://www.naacpldf.org/natural-hair-discrimination/