NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — A proposed bill in the Florida Legislature would prohibit discrimination against students based on hairstyles historically associated with race, including locs, afros, braids, and twists.
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For Valencia Jones, styling natural hair is a way of life.
Her salon, Mandisa Ngozi Art and Braiding Gallery, was one of Tallahassee's first natural hair salons when she started the business in 1990.
But the road to licensure wasn't smooth for Jones, who had to navigate laws that weren't designed for natural hair care.
"Back then they didn't have any laws that were fair when it came to people who focused on natural hair and natural hair care," Jones said. "What they had in place was for chemical services, and back then I had no interest in using any chemicals on my clients,” Jones said. “I actually had to defy the law."
That’s until Governor Ron DeSantis removed “licensure requirements for hair braiding, hair wrapping, and body wrapping” in 2020.
But Jones’ early days of defiance are documented in magazine clippings.
“This was the start of a natural hair revolution, and I really appreciate being a part of that foundation,” she said. “Erykah Badu actually saw some of our work featured in the magazine, and she reached out to us about some of our hair extensions.”
Today, Jones is taking her mission global, using social media to educate and advocate for natural textures.
However, her clients still face difficulties wearing their natural hair in professional settings.
"We do hear the challenges of our clients who are working in professional atmospheres who feel like they will be discriminated against if they wear their hair in its natural state on their jobs," Jones said. "I've had clients to come and actually cry in my chair because they're doing the big chop."
A 2023 Dove research study revealed that Black women's hair is twice as likely to be perceived as unprofessional, and Black women with coily or textured hair are twice as likely to “experience microaggressions in the workplace.”
It's why Democratic Leader of the Florida House of Representatives Fentrice Driskell is proposing the CROWN Act for the sixth year.
The bill would prohibit discrimination in schools based on hairstyles historically associated with race.
"The Crown Act would provide protections for our young people so that they can just stay focused on school and so that they don't have to deal with that discrimination, and if they encounter it, they would have recourse,” Driskell said.
As the bill sits in the Education Administration Subcommittee, Driskell feels she's making progress in getting it passed.
"We have done what's known as salon-storming, stopping by salons in the local community, telling them about the Crown Act, getting folks to sign petitions, and to really ramp up their advocacy, so I'm hoping that greater awareness would allow us to demonstrate, ‘Hey, the community actually cares about this,’" Driskell said.
For Jones, the issue goes beyond hair styling.
"Our natural hair is our identity. It's our culture, so it's much deeper than just hair," Jones said. “We're building a foundation with our children, and we want them to be proud of who they are and not ashamed of who they are."
The CROWN Act Bill was also introduced in the Florida Senate by Florida Senator Shevrin Jones.
If passed by both the Senate and House and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, the bill would take effect July 1.
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