A man whose mission is to end hair discrimination to ensure everyone's natural hair texture is respected said it all starts with education.When you look around a busy salon, you'll see many different hair textures in different styles, from straightened to natural to curly to dreadlocks.But not everyone feels like their natural hair is accepted outside the salon."We have customers that come into the salon all the time to get their hair straightened, relaxed or Europeanized just to go to job interviews," said Mahia Mills, owner of Mahia's Beauty Salon in Odenton.Tomora Nance understands what that's like as she serves in the Army. She said that before the Army changed its grooming policy in 2021, she couldn't wear her hair the way she wanted."I know when I first came in to the military, it was really difficult because we had to constantly pull our hair back into a bun, and for a lot of women of color, it was breaking off our edges and not allowing us to have a lot of protective styling," Nance said.Nance isn't the only one who has experienced this. According to the Dove CROWN research study in 2019, Black women were 80% more likely than white women to feel they have to change their natural hair to fit in at work.| 'CLARIFIED' SERIES: What is the CROWN Act?At the time of the study, Black women were one and a half times more likely to be sent home from work because of their hair.Charles Belo, founder and CEO of Belo Consulting Group, said these are the effects of hair discrimination: "Hair discrimination, at its basic level, is racism, in my opinion, and so, anyway, that we can eradicate racism in this case through learning about hair discrimination, that’s the way to do it."Belo works to address racism through teaching free anti-hair discrimination workshops for Anne Arundel County high school students who want to work in the hair industry.Belo has partnered with Rob's Barbershop Community Foundation to work alongside licensed cosmetologists teaching students what hair discrimination is and showing them real-life examples. He also educates them on the CROWN Act, legislation passed in Maryland and 18 other states that prohibit race-based hair discrimination in the workplace and in schools.| RELATED: 'This is our culture': Baltimoreans react to US House passing of CROWN Act"We identify what that legislation looks like, and then also give them some examples on how they can mitigate and minimize the possibility of hair discrimination where they are," Belo said.The workshops are not just for the students that are doing hair. They also help the students go on to educate the people that will be sitting in their chairs."We are equipping them so that they can then be a better resource for their clients, prospective or actual, by teaching them what the CROWN Act is," Belo said. "Anyone can be subject to hair discrimination, and the CROWN Act is legislation that helps get rid of it for all people."| RELATED: Maryland law banning discrimination based on hair texture, style takes effectBelo said he hopes educating the next generation inspires them to be forces of change and help create a world where hair discrimination is a thing of the past."I'm hopeful that we can continue to get the word out and allow folks to be informed and be empowered," Belo said.So far, Belo has held workshops at the Center of Applied Technology North and the Center of Applied Technology South. He has worked with 90 students and is looking to educate more people of all ages.