New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed off on legislation last Friday to make his state one of the few in the country to ban race-based hair discrimination. The New York Democrat signed Assembly Bill 07797 into law, which prohibits race discrimination based on natural hair or hairstyles.
The law amended the state’s Human Rights Law and Dignity for All Students Act to make it clear that race-based discrimination also includes “traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles.”