ALBANY — New York became the second state in the nation to outlaw discrimination based on a person’s hairstyle after Gov. Cuomo signed a bill Friday amending the state’s Human Rights Law.
The Empire State joined California in barring racial discrimination based on natural hair and hairstyles like bantu knots, braids, twists and dreadlocks.
“The way one chooses to wear their hair should be legally protected and supported – and in New York, now it will be,” said bill sponsor Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D-Bronx).
Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright (D-Brooklyn) said the measure was a matter of righting a wrong and ending the “problematic practice of hair discrimination.”
“As a black woman who prioritizes equity, and has worn my natural for 17 years, this bill is deeply personal for me,” she said.
The measure adds a new section to the state’s Human Rights Law’s definition of race that include “traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles.”
The move comes months after the city Commission on Human Rights issued similar guidelines in February that made targeting people based on their hair or hairstyle, at work, school or in public a form of racial discrimination.
California governor Gavin Newsom enacted a similar “CROWN Act,” an acronym for Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair, last week making the Golden State the first in the country to outlaw discriminating against someone because of the way they wear their hair.
African-Americans have historically had to deal with discrimination in the workplace for choosing to wear their hair in natural or traditional styles, noted Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers).
“Discriminating against someone because of their hair style or texture is wrong, and now it is also against the law,” she said. “We should celebrate the diversity that makes New York State great and that includes respecting the hair style choices of all New Yorkers.”
Gov. Cuomo said the legislation will prevent employers from requiring black employees straighten their hair or setting dress codes that prevent employees from wearing afros, braids or dreadlocks.
“For much of our nation’s history, people of color — particularly women — have been marginalized and discriminated against simply because of their hair style or texture,” Cuomo said. “By signing this bill into law, we are taking an important step toward correcting that history and ensuring people of color are protected from all forms of discrimination.”
