Awa Diagne’s braiding shop wins lawsuit, gets permit in South Fulton
Awa Diagne was on the verge of opening her braiding shop, Awa Hair, in South Fulton when the city council denied her permit just to shield a nearby salon from competition.
Rather than let her American dream fade away, Diagne filed a lawsuit with the Institute for Justice (IJ) in August. Recently, a judge ruled the city improperly denied her the permit and was ordered to issue her the permit.
Diagne immigrated from Senegal over 30 years ago in search of a better life. Since then, she married, raised six children, and supported her family by braiding hair.
In 2021, Awa moved to South Fulton with her family but intended to continue running her shop in downtown Atlanta, however, tragedy struck. The day after she moved into her house, her husband was admitted to the hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
He never came home.
Without her husband, Diagne could no longer run her business in downtown Atlanta. As the sole provider for her family, she said she needed to work, so quitting wasn’t a choice. She decided to open a new hair braiding business in South Fulton right by her home and her daughters’ school.
Diagne said she went to work, found a storefront to lease, and checked every box along the way. The last hurdle was getting approval from the South Fulton City Council. It should have been easy.
After all, the planning and zoning commissions had already recommended Diagne be approved.
However, the Council voted against her, saying she would provide “too much competition” to another salon. At one point, a councilwoman said that it was “not fair” the salon should “have to compete” with Diagne, and another councilwoman argued the Council should deny her because “we don’t want any business to suffer any losses due to an oversaturation.”
The ruling rejects the city’s attempt to favor one business over another. The Council’s actions “run contrary to Georgia’s long history of constitutional jurisprudence that entitles Georgians to pursue a lawful occupation of their choosing free from unreasonable government interference.”
This case extends IJ’s landmark ruling from 2023 to the context of zoning, where officials often believe that they enjoy unlimited discretion to violate the right to earn a living and property rights. This latest victory in IJ’s Zoning Justice Project reminds them they do not.
Diagne says she feels “so happy and grateful to God” for her shop opening finally after so many trials and tribulations. She also says when she was denied permits, she felt desperate and wasn’t fully comprehensive about what was happening.
“I am so grateful that I’m going to be allowed to open my braiding shop,” Diagne said. “It wasn’t easy to keep believing in my American dream, but I’m happy that I kept going, stood up for what is right, and won.”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert C.I. McBurney ruled the City Council abused its discretion when it denied Awa’s permit. The judge found the “only evidence” in the record for denying her permit was the Council’s desire to protect the profits of a politically favored salon.
Citing a landmark 2023 IJ case, the judge explained this desire is not a constitutional reason for infringing “on one’s ability to engage in a lawful business.”
“[This] ruling affirms that economic liberty is alive and well in Georgia,” IJ Senior Attorney Renée Flaherty said. “Last year, the Supreme Court of Georgia held that protecting one business from competition from another is not a legitimate reason to infringe on the right to earn a living. The City of South Fulton has been held accountable for ignoring the Court’s clear message.”
Additionally, Diagne says her children are “extremely happy” to see their mom finally open her braiding shop after everything. She also said throughout losing her husband and originally being denied permits, she felt lost.
“My husband and I came to America for a better life and to have kids so we could put them in a good school, raise them like everyone else,” she said. “Everything was fine until my husband passed, it was very hard for me.”
Throughout this process, Diagne says she learned what it truly took to be a single mother and the importance in standing up for oneself.
“If my husband was here at that time, he would’ve been the support I needed. Raising six kids on your own can be a lot. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I needed to care for them and survive,” she said.
She also said she wanted to fight because the city council had “done her wrong.”
“I had to fight this because I already had the business, I spent money on it, and I was trying to survive as a single mother,” she said. “I wasn’t trying to harm anyone, I just wanted to open my business so I could care for my children.”
In the face of adversity, Diagne tells other business owners to do the right thing and fight for their dreams.
“If you open a business and they ask you for your papers or whatever, go ahead and do it, but if they do you wrong, you have to stand up and fight for your business, it’s your dream and it’s worth fighting for,” she said.
As far as business goals for 2025, Diagne says she wants to make the money she lost back due to not being able to work last year.
“I have a lot of support from the community and I’m trying to regain all the money I spent because I lost a lot of money last year. I wasn’t working; I was trying to survive, so this year is about rebuilding,” she said.
In five to 10 years, Diagne says her braiding shop will be prosperous despite its chaotic beginnings.
“My braiding shop is a gift from God and it’s going to be a lot of things coming in the next five to 10 years,” she said.
Braiding hair, Diagne says, is a gift she’s been cultivating since she was noticeably young.
“I love to braid hair and have been doing it since I was very young, it’s my gift,” she said.
Diagne says thank you to the community and all the support she received in making her dream to open her braiding shop a reality.
“Everything in life happens for a reason, but sometimes you must do good to have good. It wasn’t right for them to do me wrong like that, but it’s what made me fight, not just for myself, but for my kids,” she said. “I’m also fighting for other people who are trying to open a business.”
Awa Hair is located at Butternut Place, South Fulton. For more information, visit https://awahair.com/home-page.
