The bill was refiled by Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers, a Garland Democrat, after a similar law died in the last legislative session. The bill will prevent schools and workplaces from discriminating against someone on the basis of hairstyles usually associated with race. People with braids, locks, afros and twists would be protected under the law.
“The fact is, ending hair discrimination is a civil rights issue," Bowers told the Observer in an emailed statement before the bill's signing. "The bill has broad and overwhelming bipartisan support, and it would be a common sense victory that every legislator could bring home to their district, that would improve the lives of countless Texans, and that more people than we can even imagine will appreciate.”
Bowers said in a social media post over the weekend that the bill was signed by the governor. In the post, she thanked the bill's Senate sponsor Sen. Borris Miles, a Houston Democrat. She also thanked the Crown Act coalition and its cofounder Adjoa B. Asamoah. The coalition is national group that advocates for legislation like HB 567 across the country.
Several people turned out to City Council’s meeting Wednesday to speak in favor of Dallas’ resolution supporting the Crown Act. One of them was State Board of Education member Aicha Davis, a Dallas Democrat.
She said she and others have spent the last two legislative sessions trying to get this bill passed. "[The Crown Act] makes sure our students can be in a classroom learning and they’re not suspended because they wear natural hair,” Davis said. “This is actually a thing across Texas.”
The Dallas Independent School District is welcoming of all natural hairstyles, she said, but that isn’t the case everywhere. “Just last year, a student was not allowed to enroll in their local ISD because they had locks,” Davis said.“Just last year, a student was not allowed to enroll in their local ISD because they had locks." – Aicha Davis, Texas State Board of Education
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The future workforce could be coming out of these classrooms, Davis said. “So we need to make sure they have every opportunity to get all the information they need to be successful,” she said. “That’s what the Crown Act does. It makes sure there is no discrimination. It gives our students that great opportunity to learn.”
Dakari Davis, a Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) police officer, also implored City Council to support the Crown Act. “I was segregated from engaging with the community as a police officer for almost a year, where I sat on desk duty because of the cornrows I wear in my hair,” he said.
He asked City Council members to imagine the mayor telling them their hair was inappropriate and unprofessional and they’d have to sit out of meetings until they changed it. “That is what is occurring throughout the state of Texas, and throughout our country,” he said.
Last year, 18-year-old Treyvion Gray was unable to graduate from Needville High School in Fort Bend County because he refused to cut his dreadlocks. In Dallas-Fort Worth, two people have claimed they were denied jobs at Six Flags Over Texas because they had dreadlocks, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
At the time, Six Flags Over Texas put out a statement explaining its policies.
“We maintain a company-wide grooming code that includes standard uniforms for front-line team members and no extreme hairstyles such as drastic variations in hair color, locks or partially shaven heads," the company said in a statement to KXAS-TV. "We do permit braids and we also recognize that some team members may request accommodations to our grooming code due to religious, cultural or medical reasons. We work with those team members on a case-by-case basis to address his or her individual needs.”
Before the resolution was unanimously approved, City Council member Casey Thomas amended it to provide Abbott with some added incentive in the matter. “A resolution from the city of Dallas encouraging and asking the governor to sign this now that it’s on his desk I think will be the ammunition that’s needed to get it across the finish line,” Thomas said.
Thomas also thanked City Council member Adam Bazaldua for putting the resolution on the Quality of Life, Art and Culture committee's agenda. Bazaldua is chair of that committee and told the Observer that no one should be afraid to wear their hair naturally. "Race based hair discrimination has unfairly disadvantaged Black Americans for far too long," Bazaldua said. "As a former teacher, I saw the prejudice against students firsthand. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated in our city."
The bill was signed over the weekend and will take effect Sept. 1.
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