London teacher releases new children's book encouraging young black girls to celebrate their hair
Dominic Yoboué, a teacher based in South London has released an empowering book aimed at young black girls - encouraging them to be prideful of their hair. After he witnessed an incident amongst students in his classroom, he was inspired to write this book.
Yoboué says, “I’m a teacher based in South London and one of the children in my class hadn’t had her hair done in a little while, and another child told her that she’s ugly because her hair’s ugly. After a class discussion about the power of words, I felt this message needed to spread and a picture book would be the best way to convey it to a young audience.”
Yoboué believes in the power of representation and feels diverse voices are still underrepresented. He sees this book as a celebration of black culture through illustrations and relatable themes that resonate with young black girls.
The main character, Kara, is a five-year old with big hair and big dreams. Through her story, children get to see the world through Kara’s eyes as she learns about herself, her hair and the importance of self-love and kindness.
Drawing from his own childhood experiences, Yoboué shares how his upbringing allowed him to connect deeply with Kara’s story as he too had similar issues growing up.
He explains, “The children and teacher, who constantly went to touch Kara’s hair was something I constantly dealt with as a child with an Afro. In the moment you don’t really take much notice of it, but upon reflection, these things shouldn’t have happened.”