LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate voted Tuesday to ban discrimination against race-based hairstyles, moving one step closer to joining 20 other states that have already enacted policies known as the CROWN Act.
The bill, which passed 33-5, would amend Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to specify that racial discrimination focused on "hair texture and protective hairstyles" is prohibited in employment decisions, housing and schools.
The acronym CROWN stands for "Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair." "Protective hairstyles" include braids, locks and twists, according to the language of the bill.
Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, the bill's sponsor, said she's heard stories of Black men who had to cut off their cornrows to fit with a conservative workplace, and Black women who were denied opportunities because of their natural hair.
Anthony said when she first introduced the CROWN Act in Michigan in 2019, she was told to "focus on issues that really matter" and was "laughed out of rooms." In the past, some fellow Democrats, older African Americans and Republicans had all been critical of her proposal, she said.
"There's many rooms that we've been laughed out of. But this isn't one today," Anthony said, standing on the Michigan Senate floor after the vote in favor of her bill.
Democrats won control of the Senate for the first time nearly four decades in November. Anthony told reporters it was "a new day."
Her proposal now goes to the Democratic-controlled state House for consideration.
Since 2019, a national coalition has encouraged states to approve legislation against hair-based discrimination. The organizations involved in the campaign include the company Dove and the National Urban League.
The coalition has labeled race-based hair discrimination "a systemic problem in the workplace — from hiring practices to daily workplace interactions — disproportionately impacting Black women's employment opportunities and professional advancement."
Black women's hair is two and half times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional, according to a survey earlier this year of 2,990 female respondents, conducted on behalf of Dove.
Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit, said the roots of discrimination against Black hair can be traced back to slavery.
"We must acknowledge the painful history and work tirelessly to dismantle the system that perpetrates discrimination against Black hair," Santana said.
Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, was among the five Republicans who voted against the CROWN Act. He said the language of the proposal was too open ended and could allow someone to take advantage of the policy.
"If you had an individual abusing this law, the way it was written, it can have a negative impact on a small business," Runestad said.
Before the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee earlier this month, Adjoa B. Asamoah, who developed the legislative strategy for the CROWN Act, said hair-based bias was a "prevalent form of racial discrimination."
Asamoah cited a 2018 incident in New Jersey where a referee forced a high school wrestler, Andrew Johnson, who is Black, to decide between cutting his dreadlocks and forfeiting a match.
Anthony also referenced a 2021 situation in which the hair of a 7-year-old student in Mount Pleasant was cut by a classmate and a teacher.
