New Michigan law bans discrimination for natural hair, hairstyles

LANSING − Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expanded Michigan's civil rights law that bars racial discrimination to include discrimination based on hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locks and twists.

"Let’s just call it what it is, hair discrimination is nothing more than thinly veiled racial discrimination," said bill sponsor state Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, at the bill signing Thursday.

With Whitmer's signature, Michigan became the 20th state to create such a civil rights protection from discrimination based on hair. Colloquially known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair — or CROWN Act — Senate Bill 90 updates the definition of race in the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include "traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles." The law bars discrimination in housing, employment, education and public accommodations.

Anthony and Whitmer both wore crown pins to mark the occasion.

Whitmer denounced the idea that Black communities need "to control their hair or to make it conform to white standards to meet unspoken rules" as "rooted in prejudice."

"For far too long, we know that hair-based discrimination has been used to deny equal opportunity for Black Americans. No more. Not here in Michigan," Whitmer said. "With this overwhelmingly bipartisan bill, we're coming together to say that no one should be fired from their job, denied opportunity or kicked out of school because of their hair."

Anthony previously introduced the bill in 2019 as a member of the House before this year's legislation advanced through the Legislature.

Despite the CROWN Act not moving when Anthony previously introduced it, she said in a Senate floor speech delivered last month that hearing firsthand experiences of Black people in Michigan and beyond of hair discrimination drove her to keep advocating for the legislation.

Among the many different people Anthony heard from in advocating for the legislation, she recalled the stories of "Black women and girls who have been embarrassed, mistreated, denied opportunities and unfairly disciplined because of the way God has created us."

She has described the CROWN Act as a matter of personal empowerment, and on Thursday said its approval was "a long time coming."

But she said it represents just the "floor" when it comes to state legislative action to help ensure Black residents can thrive in Michigan. "We are not going to stop at the CROWN Act," she said. "This is just the beginning, ya’ll. And I am hoping, that we continue to have the level of energy and excitement around the issues that impact African Americans in our state." She pointed to closing the racial wealth gap and health disparities as the next issues lawmakers should tackle.

A research study published in 2020 by Michigan State University found Black women with natural hair were more likely to be seen as less professional and receive fewer recommendations for job interviews "when compared to Black women with straightened hair and white women with straight or curly hair."

California was the first U.S. state to adopt a policy banning discrimination based on natural hair in 2019.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.

Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan civil rights law updated to ban hair discrimination