California Is Now the First State to Ban Natural Hair Discrimination

California has become the first U.S. state to outlaw racial discrimination based on a individual’s hair.

The legislation, also known as the The CROWN Act: Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair, was passed unanimously last month by the California State Assembly. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill Wednesday in an effort to combat outdated, discriminatory policies that primarily target the black community.

“In a society in which hair has historically been one of many determining factors of a person’s race, and whether they were a second-class citizen, hair today remains a proxy for race,” the bill read. “Therefore, hair discrimination targeting hairstyles associated with race is racial discrimination.”

The CROWN Act, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2020, prohibits employers and schools from enforcing policies that prohibit natural hairstyles such as locs, afros, and braids. Sen. Holly J Mitchell, who authored the bill, argued that these policies reinforced harmful stereotypes and discouraged countless people from pursuing certain jobs.

“Many black employees—including your staff members—will tell you, if given the chance, that the struggle to maintain what society has deemed a ‘professional image’ while protecting the health and integrity of their hair remains a defining and paradoxical struggle in their work experience, not usually shared by their non-black peers,” she told her colleagues, as reported by The Guardian. “Members, it is 2019. Any law that sanctions a job description that immediately excludes me from a position, not because of my capabilities or experience but because of my hair, is long overdue for reform.”

Newsom said the need for this kind of protection was underscored in late 2018, when a referee told a black high school wrestler to either cut off his dreadlocks or forfeit his match. The New Jersey teenager chose the former, and the ref, Alan Maloney, was placed under investigation. 

“His decision whether or not to lose an athletic competition or lose his identity came into, I think, stark terms for millions of Americans,” Newsom said prior to signing the bill. “That is played out in workplaces, it’s played out in schools—not just athletic competitions and settings—every single day all across America in ways subtle and overt.”