A state Assembly committee on Monday approved a bill that would ban discrimination based on someone’s hairstyle or the texture of their hair in New Jersey.

The measure (A5564), introduced this summer after a New Jersey high school wrestler was forced by a referee to choose between forfeiting his match or cutting his dreadlocks and competing, would make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of hair, as it is to discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation or race.

The State’s Laws Against Discrimination would be amended to include “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles,” like twists or braids.

“Unfortunately, it’s all too common for African-Americans and people of color to be subjected to discrimination at work or school for wearing their hair in braids, twists, and dreadlocks or embracing their natural curls,” state Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, D-Hudson, said in a statement.

She told NJ Advance Media previously that she was inspired to propose the ban after Andrew Johnson, a Buena Regional High School wrestler was forced to chop off his dreadlocks, sparking outrage.

McNight said she was moved to tears by the images of the Atlantic County wrestler’s hair being sheared off.

This ban on discrimination would have protected Johnson, she said in a statement Monday.

The Assembly Labor Committee approved the bill 8-0 on Monday. It must be passed by the full Assembly and state Senate and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy to become law.

Similar movements are afoot in California in New York. And the New York City Commission on Human Rights in February unveiled guidelines for employers and housing providers that protects hairstyles that are “an inherent part of black identity.”

“If a person of color wants to embrace their cultural identity by wearing their hair in a certain style, they should be free to do so without fear of prejudice,” Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, D-Mercer, said in a statement.

“No one should be told to straighten, cut or change their hair in any way to meet certain norms. It’s time we enshrine these values into our law.”

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus.

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