Metro Detroit women praise CROWN Act's passing in Michigan
(CBS DETROIT) - The CROWN Act is now law in Michigan, banning discrimination in workplaces and schools based on hair texture and protective hairstyles like braids, locks, and twists.
Michigan is the 23rd state to pass a version of the bill.
"As a Black woman, I appreciate how I can wear my hair. It makes me feel beautiful, and it's something that I want to show the world," Ashley Stevenson said.
And now that creating a respectful and open world for natural hair is law in Michigan, Stevenson, an entrepreneur and social media manager for Detroit Public Schools Community District, says she and so many others have the green light to confidentially navigate any space they occupy without fear of backlash, which is something Stevenson has experienced in corporate spaces before.
"I remember the disappointment in seeing how they favored certain hairstyles," Stevenson said. "When I came in with an 18-inch 'buss down' weave, it was like, 'Oh my gosh, Ashley, this is so pretty, and this is so lovely.' And when I came in with Bohemian locks, it was like, 'What are you going through,'"
Yolanda Haralson, a micro loctician, hears stories like Stevenson's all the time.
"A lot of my clients are hesitant about embracing their natural hair because at work, what someone will say or how someone will look at them," Haralson said.
However, she says this new law allows Black people, and Black women in particular, permission to embrace what's naturally theirs.
"We can do so many things with our hair. We can get locks, we can get braids, and it's a lifestyle. It's a way we can express ourselves through our hair," Haralson said.
Past attempts at backing this kind of expression and passing the CROWN Act in Michigan failed in the Republican-led legislature. But this year, the bill passed with bipartisan support in the State House. On Thursday, June 15, 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill into law.
"That is a great feeling to know that we are now protected in the workspace," Tressa Galloway said.
Galloway is a mortgage underwriter who recently traded in hot combs and hours of daily hair maintenance for micro locks.
"I don't think I've ever felt this liberated. Like, just wake up in the morning, shake, and go," she said.
Dove's 2019 CROWN research study found Black women are 80% more likely to agree with the statement, "I have to change my hair from its natural state to fit in at the office."
It's something Galloway says she no longer feels inclined to do, and she hopes her children are never forced into compliance that alters their crown.
"We can let our hair grow out of our head the way that it naturally does," Galloway said. "And we don't have to worry about anybody saying we can't work here or we can't have a certain position because we don't look professional enough."