The wheels of justice often turn slowly. But not for an African hair braider in South Fulton, Georgia. Less than four months after Awa Diagne filed a lawsuit with IJ’s help, a judge ruled that the city violated her right to engage in a lawful business and ordered the city to let her open her braiding shop immediately.

As described in this publication’s December issue, Awa’s case came together quickly. After braiding hair in downtown Atlanta for nearly 30 years, she needed to move her business closer to her home and family in South Fulton. Fortunately, she found the perfect storefront near her twin daughters’ school. She signed a lease, invested thousands of dollars in renovations, and secured recommendations from the city’s zoning staff and planning commission. All she needed was a special use permit from the South Fulton City Council.

But in July 2024, the council complained that Awa’s business might be too successful and that customers might prefer her to a politically favored hair salon. One councilwoman argued it was “not fair” that existing salons should “have to compete” in the same area.

With a council vote scheduled later that month, friends of IJ reached out because of our work defending natural hair braiders’ constitutional right to earn an honest living. And on the morning of the vote, we sent the council a letter reminding it that we recently vindicated this right in Georgia in 2023 on behalf of lactation consultants. It ignored our warning and voted to deny Awa’s permit solely to protect existing salons’ profits. Weeks later, IJ sued.

Then, in December, a judge held that the city violated Awa’s constitutional rights. In his ruling, the judge explained that the city’s only basis for denying Awa’s permit was to protect an existing salon’s “haircare monopoly.” Citing IJ’s 2023 victory at the Georgia Supreme Court, the judge reaffirmed that a city can infringe on the ability to engage in a lawful business only if reasonably necessary to advance public health or safety.

This recent win extends precedent we established in an occupational licensing case to the zoning context. In both areas, courts are often reluctant to enforce constitutional protections, instead acting as a rubber stamp for government overreach. As IJ’s first challenge under our new Zoning Justice Project, Awa’s victory serves as a warning to government officials that they cannot abuse zoning laws to pick winners and losers in the marketplace.

In the first week of 2025, Awa opened her South Fulton braiding shop: Awa Best Braids. Now she is free to share her passion for African hair braiding with the community she calls home. And Georgia courts have once again proven that they take rights seriously. We’ll continue to build on this precedent nationwide to protect the rights to earn an honest living and to use your property productively.

Christian Lansinger is an IJ attorney.