Our Crown and Glory
The New York Times best-selling children’s book turned short film Hair Love has been getting media attention since it’s premier this month. The animated short film—based on a true story—is about a Black American father taking on the seemingly daunting task of doing his young daughter’s thick, curly hair. And, well, it has us completely and utterly in our #feels.
Being black and watching this short film brought upon countless thoughts and perspectives—there’s finally more positive representation of a Black American father in children’s media. With over 20,000 comments on the film, women and girls from all backgrounds are telling their own stories of their fathers attempting to do their hair—and there’s a beautiful commonality that this film has on so many different families. Author Matthew Cherry explains how he wanted to translate who the typical black father is and create normalcy around seeing a black family in animation while rightfully representing little black girls.
Hair Love was created to diminish stereotypes and positively represent black culture—starting with the hair on our head. Cherry says, “One thing I will say is there is authenticity in specificity.” And—specifically—being black means facing constant challenges in our everyday lives. Often we have to compromise our cultural identity for what is deemed “professional” in schools and the workplace—causing the loss of many opportunities. Last week, Senator Cory Booker unveiled The Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act—a bill banning the discrimination of natural and protective hairstyles associated with people of African decent and encouraging us to unapologetically wear our crowns freely.
Unfortunately—fixing racial discrimination is a work in progress. It takes empathy and understanding the facts (and understanding other humans who may not look like you) to make a wave. We’re still teaching big corporations—like the NBC America’s Got Talent team—to undo their toxic, racially insensitive work culture. But it’s important for us to keep pushing boundaries. It’s important to implement protective laws against systemic racism for black and brown people. It’s important that we continue to stand in our truth. To stand with our allies. To stand for removing the narrative that people of color should show up as anything other than who we are.
To unapologetically wear our crown in all its glory.
Co-authored by Lexcie Lewis.