Virginia has officially become the first southern U.S. state to ban hair discrimination based on racial identifiers including hair texture and hair type.
Other states continue to weigh legislation to ban hair discrimination in the workforce and classroom.
Known as the Crown Act, it protects against discrimination based on hairstyles by extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective styles.
Many say the push to ban natural hair discrimination in the U.S. came after Andrew Johnson, a student at Buena Regional High School, was forced to cut his dreadlocks to compete in a wrestling match.
The incident wasn’t the first act of hair discrimination in a school setting, but it did lead legislators to reevaluate laws on racial discrimination.
