"Natural Hair" Bullying Inspires Children's Book
When I kept seeing stories of children that were told that their natural hair was inappropriate or unacceptable for school this was major motivation for me to start this project. The more recent story of Vanessa Vandyke was a source of infuriation and inspiration for me. Vanessa was being bullied at school and some of this bullying was in relation to her natural hairstyle. Understandably, her family’s response was to report this to the school. The school’s responded by telling Vanessa and her family that she had to cut her hair or else she was going to expelled from school. I was disgusted at the school’s response and perhaps even more disgusted by the social reaction to this story; in particular the comments from the African American community were the most disturbing to me. Some of the comments were in defense of the school’s horrendous actions.
They said that her hair looked “unkempt” or it was a “distraction” or it does not look “good”. However, in spite of everything when Vanessa spoke about the issue she maintained that her hair made her unique and she loved her hair. It was inspiring to see such confidence in a young girl as many young girls lack that level of esteem. I thought it would be great if I could empower that same sense of self in young girls.
The Jamie Loves Her Natural Hair children’s book will teach children to love and embrace who they are right from the start. It’s about time that we start teaching children, that even though you are different or your looks are not mainstream you are still beautiful.
What I also find troubling is the lack of diverse characters for children’s toys, stories, and games. One of my cousins loves princess stuff, so when I went to go buy her some princess toys and accessories I found that there was a lack of characters that reflected her background. When I sat down and talked to her mother about the project I felt an even greater need to pursue it. She told me that she is one of the few girls of color in her dance class and she sometimes asks why her hair is not like the other girls.
Art and literature is a great way to start telling children that who they are is beautiful. Even if it isn’t a hair issue, all children usually have something about them that is different. Whether that is they are really tall, really short, or really skinny kids always find something to tease you about. While this message will be especially powerful for young girls of color, it is applicable to any child that feels different in some way. The main character of this story Jamie, knows that her hair isn’t necessarily part of the majority or popular but she loves her hair regardless. Sending the message to all children, that yes you may have a feature that is different from everyone else, but so what? It is part of what makes you, you.
To help cover printing & distribution costs for this project support this project by sharing this kickstarter page at: http://kck.st/1iHroOh and or becoming a backer. It only takes $1 to be a backer and backers who donate at least $5 will receive a copy of the book, and for higher donations, there are more cool prizes!
In this video "Jamie Loves Her Natural Hair" creator Ariane Roberts and BlackNaps.com blogger talks about her inspiration for the book, as well as how naturalistas everywhere can help kick-start such a worthy project.