The mere act of you trying to figure that out is a way for you to show them how much you love them.”Īs artists, we are our own brands. He says, “I think the main reason has resonated so much with the public and media is because we all can relate to having someone we love asks us to do something we don’t know how to do. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with Cherry recounting how people at the premiere told him this was their story, bringing their copies of the book and recreating poses from it on social media. In Zuri, he also hopes to create a heroine who looks like his young audience and normalizes their natural hair. Cherry tells us that he wanted to represent both African-American girls with curly hair and black dads, who often get portrayed unfairly by the media.

The animated short follows a dad who is combing through YouTube tutorials, brushing up on how to style his daughter Zuri’s afro, which seemingly has a mind of its own. It has also been turned into a best-selling children’s book by Penguin Random House. It began as a viral 2017 Kickstarter campaign, which raised over $284,000 against a goal of $75,000 - setting a new record for short films on the crowdfunding platform. Hair Love was released in domestic cinemas ahead of Sony Picture Animation’s The Angry Birds Movie 2 on August 14. Cherry hopes to change narratives and inspire the next generation with his animated short, Hair Love. These are not isolated instances African-American children have historically faced institutional prejudice towards their hairstyles, which is reinforced throughout their lifetimes by a media and beauty industry that often fail to represent them and recognize their needs.

Stanley was turned away from his classroom for the same reason. Last year, sixth grader Faith Fennidy was sent home because her braids violated her New Orleans school’s dress code, a week after six-year-old Florida boy C.

Matthew cherry hair love