California Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Bill Banning Hair Discrimination

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that makes California the first state to protect black people from hair discrimination.

The Democratic governor signed the CROWN Act ― which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural hair ― into law on Wednesday, after the state Assembly passed it June 27 and the state Senate passed it about two months before that.

“[This issue] is played out in workplaces, played out in schools,” Newsom said at the signing. “Every single day, all across America in ways subtle and in ways overt.”

The new law introduced by state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D), a black woman, outlaws policies that punish black employees and K-12 students for wearing their hair in natural or protective styles. Workplaces and public schools will be banned from enforcing grooming policies that disproportionately affect people of color, especially black people who wear braids, dreadlocks and Afros.

It is already illegal to discriminate in employment practices based on certain protected categories, such as race, under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The CROWN Act mandates that the definition of race under the employment law also include traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective styles.