Lawsuit Filed Against the Louisiana Board of Cosmetology

Across the country people are standing up for their right to wear their natural hair and to provide natural hair care services as a business. In the most recent news the Louisiana Board of Cosmetology is being sued by the Institute for Justice.

The state of Louisiana requires that a person who wants to braid hair must finish 500 hours of course curriculum as a prerequisite to braid for a living. The problem with this is that this course curriculum has absolutely nothing to do with braiding. The classes required for cosmetology requires students to be well versed in chemicals and techniques that fall outside of what it means to braid or do natural hair.

The Institute for Justice an organization that protects the citizen’s rights to go into business free from unnecessary and unreasonable government restrictions. The Louisiana Board of Cosmetology put in a motion to dismiss this suit, however, this motion was denied. As of now Louisiana requires that braiders take a braider course. The issue is that it is only offered in Monroe, LA. This is a problem for women who live hours away. Braiders have to pay thousands of dollars for this license and payments have to be paid to the state for the upkeep of this license. This unnecessary governmental involvement is a huge problem for women who just need to earn a living with the skills in which they already have.

In 1997 Texas native and ancestral braider Isis Brantley was arrested for braiding hair without a cosmetology license even though she did not use chemicals or harsh processes. She had a long battle with the state of Texas and the Institute for Justice was in her corner and helped her to win the fight. Isis Brantley speaks in detail about being arrested in her own shop and the grueling battle that she had with the state in our documentary film Natural Hair the Movie, which you can check out here (www.naturalhairthemovie.com/trailer)

https://www.ksla.com/2019/06/23/lawsuit-challenges-louisianas-training-mandate-hair-braiding/