New Jersey Becomes Third State To Legally Ban Hair Discrimination

New Jersey is now the third state in the country to legally ban hair discrimination.

It was just one year ago that a Black student wrestler was forced to cut off his locs or forfeit his match. But this week, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law banning discrimination against hairstyles that are associated with race. On Thursday, Governor Murphy signed “Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act,” also known as the CROWN Act, into law.

CBS News reports that it amends a current race discrimination law that will now include  “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles,” such as braids, locks, and twists. The law now makes it illegal to target people in a workplace, school, or public setting based on those traits. “Race-based discrimination will not be tolerated in the State of New Jersey,” Governor Murphy said in a press release.

“No one should be made to feel uncomfortable or be discriminated against because of their natural hair. I am proud to sign this law in order to help ensure that all New Jersey residents can go to work, school, or participate in athletic events with dignity.”

Senator and presidential candidate #CoryBooker applauded the new law in a statement, saying, “Discrimination against black hair is discrimination against black people and no one should be denied a job, an education, or face discrimination because of their hairstyle.”

“I have definitely felt like there’s pressure to make your hair look and conform to a way that is not the way that it naturally grows out of your head,” Zakiya Smith-Ellis, the state’s Secretary of Higher Education said in a video on Twitter. “And that is really, that’s a lot of pressure, to be like, ‘I need to spend several hours or get a different, like a wig to put over my head, to not be able to show up.” The move for the new legislation was ignited after a video of the Black student wrestler, #AndrewJohnson emerged online. An investigation into the incident by the state Division on Civil Rights found that Maloney gave Johnson the choice of forfeiting the match or cutting his hair because an appropriate covering for his hair could not be located, according to the Associated Press.

Despite being publicly mistreated, Johnson finished the match with a win.