Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices

Hi. It's me, Marley Dias.

Welcome to Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices.

I Love My Hair! is a celebration of Black girl beauty

and the power of natural hair.

The book is written by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley

and illustrated by E.B. Lewis.

I Love My Hair! is going to be read to us by Tiffany Haddish.

Hi. I'm Tiffany Haddish.

And today I'm reading I Love My Hair!

"Every night before I go to bed, Mama combs my hair.

I sit between her knees,

resting my elbows on her thighs, like pillows.

Mama is always gentle.

She rubs coconut oil along my scalp

and slowly pulls a comb through my hair,

but sometimes it still hurts."

Mm. I know how she feel.

"When Mama gets to especially tangled places,

I try my hardest not to cry,

sucking in my breath

and pressing my hands together until they're red.

But a few tears always manage to squeeze out.

'Mama, stop!' I cry

when I can't stand the comb tugging at my hair any longer."

Aw, I know that feeling, girl. It be hurtin'! Mm-mm-mm.

"Mama puts the comb down and rubs my hurting places,

then she leans in close to me, like she has a big secret to tell.

'Do you know why you're so lucky

to have this head of hair, Keyana?' she asks.

I shake my head no.

'Because it's beautiful

and you can wear it in any style you choose.

I can spin your hair into fine, soft yarn,

just like our grandmothers did at their spinning wheels,

and weave it into a puffy little bun.'"

Ooh-whee!

A puffy little bun? If I had a spinning wheel,

I probably would weave it into a sweater.

Just to stay warm for the winter.

"'Or I can put your hair into straight lines

and plant rows of braids along your scalp,

the way we plant seeds in our garden,

then wait and watch for them to grow.'"

Mm. Now, that's what we call "cornrows."

Mm-hmm. I love cornrows.

"In the morning, before we walk to the store,

Mama adds colorful beads to the ends of my braids.

The beads click to the rhythm of my walk,

helping me remember what we're going to buy:

"Folks on the street look at me and smile as I dance along

to the Tap! Tap! Clickety-clack! music my hair makes just for me."

Now, I'ma tell you, when I was younger, I used to always have my hair in beads.

And my favorite thing was to jump rope with the hair and my beads--

They'd be like, clickety-clackety...

And sometimes, I would be in class, in elementary school,

and I'd just do my hair like this, click, click…

when my teacher would say stuff I didn't want to hear.

Lesson learned. That's how you get detention.

Don't click-clack your beads in class.

"Some days I just let my hair be free to do what it wants,

to go any which-way it pleases.

Then my hair surrounds my head, like a globe.