Hamilton woman creates book to help Black girls love and style their natural hair
CBC
For 20 years, Anita Grant says she had a complicated relationship with her hair.
"I religiously pressed my hair and by the time I hit high school ... I never really cared or showed anybody outside my family my natural hair," she told CBC Hamilton.
But during the start of the pandemic, the 28-year-old Hamiltonian says the way she viewed her hair — or her crown as she calls it — changed.
"I really got to touch, feel and experience and build a relationship with my crown," Grant said.
Then she found out she was having her first child.
"I made a commitment that I would raise my daughter to love every single part of herself, especially her crown," she said.
"I said, why not make a book to make this a really fun and positive experience for her?"
Two years later and Grant is now publishing Hello Hair.
The book is about four best friends, all inspired by Grant's family members including her daughter Tiana, who go to a salon and learn about their hair.
There are over 100 different hair designs in the book, ranging form afros, braids, twists, and locks, to head wraps and scarves.
It was published on July 3, the same day as National Crown Day in the U.S.
That day commemorates the signing of legislation in California in 2019 to end racial discrimination on the basis of a person's hair and "create a respectful and open world for natural hair."
Grant said she sunk two years and over $30,000 into the development of the book.
There are 2,000 copies right now. In Hamilton, they're being sold exclusively at Ark Collective near James Street North and Rebecca Street.