Clayton County passes ordinance prohibiting hair discrimination
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - Clayton County is taking steps to make sure residents can wear any hairstyle without facing a backlash.
The Clayton County Board of Commissioners passed the CROWN Act on Tuesday.
The Clayton County Crown Act prohibits "business, housing, and public accommodation discrimination based on protective and cultural hair textures and hairstyles within the County and for other lawful purposes."
Supporters said this will allow people the freedom to express themselves.
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Tabatha King was getting a protective hairstyle on Thursday when FOX 5 News stopped by New Beginnings Hair Studio in Riverdale.
She said she was forced to leave a job in the past due to management's complaints about her natural hair.
"My job was like 'oh no you can't have that,'" King explained.
She went on to say "you wasn't allowed to work with dreads. You wasn't allowed to work with color in your hair."
State Representative Kim Schofield addressed the board after their decision.
"It's been a challenge when you have natural hair that comes out of your head and the hair does not represent what people call beauty. But it's beauty to us. These kind of disparaging barriers have hurt us when it comes to the workplace when it comes to housing," she explained.
CROWN is an acronym for "Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair."
The county's ordinance is similar to Senate Bill 61 which was just introduced in the Georgia Legislature.
The bill would allow men and women to wear protective hairstyles like braids, twists, or locs without being discriminated against on the job unless it impacts their performance.
"African-American hair, sometimes it's not just about wanting to be natural, some times we have to be natural," New Beginning's Co-Owner Nacolia Gipp said.
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Clayton's passage of the CROWN Act is part of a national effort to normalize specific hairstyles oftentimes considered unacceptable.
Gipp said these hairstyles acknowledge our diversity.
"A lot of people don't know. It's something that because they don't know, they judge. Hairstyles, they are an expression of someone's life, their culture, and who they are," Gipp explained.
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