A few years ago, I saw a short film directed by Kiri Davis entitled, “A Girl Like Me.” In part, the film began to tackle the issue of brown girls and self image and how the media and community influence them. Davis, a teenager at the time, interviewed other young girls who did a great job of expressing their own experiences with skin tone, self esteem and how both family, and those they don’t know, affected how they viewed themselves. Around that time, I had several discussions with others about the implications of us not thinking we are beautiful because of the depth of our tone, among other things. It is unfortunate that our little girls think their brown skin is ugly. And even more unfortunate, those little girls become grown women who feel the same way. We have to be the ones to tell our little girls that they are beautiful, inside and out, so that they grow confidently knowing that they are.
From then to now, I’ve written a handful of poems specifically about brown girls and women. And somewhere along the line I decided that my third book would be all about us – a whole series of poems devoted to addressing the joys and struggles of being a brown woman. But, I wanted to write more than my own perspective and observations. I wanted to reach further than my circle. So, for and beyond the book, I am doing several things:
1. Conducting a survey to gather a wide range of opinions about the issues facing brown girls and women. Please participate in the survey here:
2. Hosting a series of small discussion groups to expound on the experiences and thoughts of different girls and women and providing a forum to share with and learn from each other.
3. Planning a variety of events that allow money to be raised and donated to organizations that provide services in the areas important to brown girls and women.
4. Write, write, write!
So, that’s the long and short of the brown girl project. I hope you’ll join me on the journey. Check back for regular updates on the project.
[...] continuing effort that is the brown girl study, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to another organization that services this population. [...]