A major problem facing African Americans is the rampant self hate among our people. Subconsciously, we are breed via the educational system, media and history to look down on our people, ourselves and especially our hair, particularly little black girls.
This is why the story of 7 year old Natalie McGriff is so inspiring and uplifting to me that I feel all of us and the world should know about her. Not only did she suffer from this self hate and hated her hair, but she realized it with the help of her mom and took steps to do something about it to help others.
Maxie-Girl-300x158Natalie is the author of “The Adventures of Maxie Girl”, a comic book series about a little black girl that hates her nature hair. Then one day, she uses some magic shampoo on her hair and her afro puffs take on super powers that give her the ability to save Jacksonville, Florida’s public libraries from being eaten by monsters.
The story builds self confidence in little black girls while encouraging them to read as well, another area Natalie struggled in before putting together the comic book.
How did she win over $16,000?
McGriff presented The Adventures of Moxie Girl at One Spark, the world’s largest crowdfunding festival designed to connect creators with the resources they need to bring their ideas to life. Her comic book was a win, as the young author took home a check for $16,423.69.
Angie Nixon, McGriff’s mother, helped to author the book upon realizing that her daughter suffered with self-esteem issues and hated reading. “‘She now realizes how powerful and awesome her hair is and that in order for her to write a cool book, she needs to read more books and learn different word,’” Nixon says.
McGriff is the winner of One Spark’s Education category. Over 530 projects reportedly competed at One Spark and 300,000 people attended.
