My Beautiful Black Hair - by St Clair Detrick-Jules (Hardcover)

About the Book

"My Beautiful Black Hair celebrates the beauty of Black natural hairstyles through personal stories of joy, compassion, affirmation, and collective wisdom"--

Book Synopsis

A collection of empowering stories and captivating photos, My Beautiful Black Hair celebrates an aspect of Black femininity--natural hair--and embraces it as a central part of Black womanhood.

A powerful celebration of self-acceptance and sisterhood. - Kirkus Review

My Beautiful Black Hair is a book about Black women embracing their natural hair. One hundred and one Black women share their stories of learning to love their natural hair and the immense power in that self-love.

St. Clair Detrick-Jules was inspired to write the book when her little sister, Khloe, came home from preschool where a classmate had told her that her hair was ugly. St. Clair wanted to send a message to Khloe and young Black women everywhere that their hair is beautiful just the way it is.

The stories she captured reveal both the depth of the physical and emotional damage done to many women by relaxing their hair and trying to make it look acceptable, and the incredible resilience, self-love, and acceptance they gained by learning to embrace their hair and free themselves from Eurocentric beauty standards.

Accompanied by beautiful and intimate photographs of each woman, the book is an encouraging voice for young Black women and the adults who remember their own journeys to self-acceptance.

WRITTEN BY BLACK WOMEN, FOR BLACK WOMEN: With powerful interviews and vivid photographs, this book offers an uplifting message to empower any woman looking to love herself just the way she is. It is a love letter to Black women everywhere navigating their relationships to their own hair.

TIMELY TOPIC: My Beautiful Black Hair celebrates Black women's ability to embrace their natural hair and let go of toxic thinking and processes around manipulating it.

UNIQUE TAKE ON FEMINISM: This book offers an uplifting message to empower any woman looking to love herself just the way she is as well as a love letter to Black women everywhere navigating their relationships to their own hair.

Perfect for: Black and Afro-Latinx women from their 20s to 40s, Black and Afro-Latinx parents with young children, fans of women's empowerment stories

Review Quotes

"My Beautiful Black Hair is a divine example of courage, self-love, acceptance, and diversity. It's a stunning collection that everyone needs to sit with, explore, and share with the little black girl in their life." -from the foreword by Alex Elle, author of After the Rain

"An inspiring message of love and empowerment." -BuzzFeed News

"St. Clair's efforts to empower her kid sister through My Beautiful Black Hair is one of the best examples of sibling love I've ever seen. The photographs and interviews embody the strength and struggle of Black girls everywhere. It is an excellent piece for our very unique hair experiences." -Keturah A. Bobo, New York Times bestselling illustrator of I Am Enough

"This book has reminded me that the complexities of Black hair have yet to be detangled strand by strand. Through these narratives, more people will see their value, strength, and uniqueness, and will gain the courage to live boldly and beautifully-just as our Creator imagined." -Daphne Lee, Dance Theatre of Harlem

"This is the book I want to gift every Black woman I know." -Robert Jones, Jr., New York Times bestselling author of The Prophets

"A powerful celebration of self-acceptance and sisterhood."-Kirkus Reviews

"There is a shared story in Black women's hair that tends to hold both a bit of joy and, at times, despair. My Beautiful Black Hair is a love letter to all Black women who are navigating the glorious landscape of our crowns. Through this brilliant collection of wisdom, vulnerability, affirmation, and deep, deep affection, St. Clair not only reminds her little sister how glorious her hair is, but she offers an illuminated narrative for all Black women to sit back and feel seen and celebrated."-- RACHEL CARGLE

Public academic, writer, and lecturer

"This is a community's love letter to [the author's younger sister], but it is also a self-reflective love note, an effort to agitate social constructs that have told all Black women that the bodies we are born into are not enough. The images are glorious, the anecdotes at times tender, at times seething. The entire book is powerful."-- ELIZABETH ACEVEDO New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X and Clap When You Land

About the Author

St. Clair Detrick-Jules is an award-winning Afro-Caribbean filmmaker and photographer, whose work focuses on immigrant justice, women's rights, and Black liberation. She is the director and producer of DACAMENTED, a documentary featuring nine DACA recipients and their struggles to deal with the Trump administration. She lives in Washington, DC.