Shawn White has been using a chemical relaxer to straighten her naturally curly hair since she was 9 years old. 

After some lessons learned from damaging her hair over the years with color dying and chemical treatments, White, 41, is now a regular client of Bonita’s Extensions and Braids in Uptown Minneapolis, a Nigerian-owned hair salon specializing in natural hair styling.

It’s one of the few places White has found in the Twin Cities that caters to her hair type. She was there on Saturday getting her hair braided just a few days after the state Senate passed the CROWN Act, also known as Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair.

Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign the bill, which bans discrimination against people based on their natural hair texture and style.

However, White was skeptical of how it will protect Black Minnesotans like her and their hair.

“I should not have to have, 40 years later to say, it’s now a pass to where I’m not going to be discriminated against because I want to wear my hair in an afro,” White said, referencing how long she’s been taking care of her hair.