Minnesota Senate Passes Bill Banning Race-Based Discrimination

The third time is a charm for the CROWN Act in Minnesota. The Senate house voted 45-19 to pass legislation banning hair discrimination, after not being taken up for a vote in 2020 and 2022.

[SEE ALSO: Minnesota One Step Closer To Banning Hair Discrimination With CROWN Act]

The January 26 vote came weeks after the House passed legislation banning hair discrimination earlier this month, making race-based discrimination a human rights violation.

The CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act is a movement spearheaded by the CROWN Coalition over the past six years to make discrimination against people of color for their hair illegal. In Minnesota, the bill modifies the definition of “race” in the Minnesota Human Rights Act to include “traits associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and hairstyles such braids, locs, and twists.”

Previous research by the CROWN Coalition shows that Black girls experience discrimination based on their hair texture and styles as early as five years old. In addition, Black women are 1.5 times more likely to have reported having been sent home or know of a Black woman being sent home from the workplace because of her hair.

“What we have seen (is) unfair scrutiny and discrimination against women and men inherent to culture,” said Senator Bobby Joe Champion, who co-sponsored the bill with Minnesota State REp. Esther Agbaje. “And this bill is about protecting a person’s decision, free from discrimination, to wear their natural hair in the workplace and in school. We recognize that any form of discrimination hurts an individual and we want all individuals to be able to go to work and feel included and welcomed in the marketplace.”

The bill is set to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz.

**February 1, 2023 UPDATE **

Gov. Walz officially signed the bill into law on Feb. 1.

“Discrimination has no place in Minnesota,” said Walz in a news release. “By signing the CROWN Act, we are sending a message that Black Minnesotans deserve to live and work free from discrimination. Today we are taking an important step in creating a more equitable Minnesota.” 

Minnesota is now the 20th state to have passed the CROWN Act or similar anti-hair discrimination laws:

• California (2019)
• New York (2019)
• New Jersey (2019)
• Maryland (2020)
• Virginia (2020)
• Colorado (2020)
• Washington (2020)
• Connecticut (2021)
• Delaware (2021)
• New Mexico (2021)
• Nevada (2021)
• Nebraska (2021) 
• Oregon (2021) 
• Illinois (2022) –extended from in schools only in 2021 to now include the workplace
• Maine (2022)
• Tennessee (2022)
• U.S. Virgin Islands (2022)
• Massachusetts (2022)
• Washington, D.C. (2022)
• Minnesota (2023)

Is your state not listed? You can join the movement by clicking here to sign a petition calling on governors and state lawmakers to get on board.