Walz also held a ceremonial signing Friday of a bill known as the CROWN Act, which he formally signed Wednesday. It stands for "Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair," and explicitly prohibits racial discrimination based on natural hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locs, and twists.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed into law bills making Juneteenth a state holiday and banning so-called "hair discrimination." (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Flanked by a crowd of mostly female Black lawmakers and community leaders, Walz joked about "the irony of an older white bald guy signing this bill," but said it addresses a real problem.
The lead House author, Democratic Rep. Esther Agbaje, of Minneapolis, said the legislation was necessary because the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017 "declined to weigh in on whether natural hair was an immutable part of race."
CONNECTICUT PASSES CROWN ACT TO BAN DISCRIMINATION AGAINST NATURAL HAIR
Nineteen other states and several cities have enacted similar protections since 2019.
"With this law we are saying that we will not allow hair discrimination as a proxy for race discrimination," Agbaje said. "We are also saying it is perfectly fine to show up as you are."