3 minute read
THE CROWN THAT I WEAR
by Kamille Jackson
Kamille Jackson, an Engineer and Realtor in Kingston Jamaica is launching a children’s picture book under the Cover KJAEREBOOKS, that connects little black girls with the value of self-love and appreciation for their God Given hair. Images and details of the book can be found at www. kamillejackson.com
Entitled “The Crown That I Wear” the book is inspired by her own personal hair journey, as well as those of other many woman of African descent worldwide as they have struggled to accept their hair in a world that has historically shamed Negro-ness, and celebrates straight hair to the global cost of many women seeking to de-Africanize their appearance.
It is an age old phenomenon that has been passed down from generation to generation, with many influential women of African ethnicity citing that their hair has played a pivotal role in their professional, social and familial lives which were rooted in twisted social norms and personal bench marks for self-love whose emblems of beauty and acceptance were seldom representative of their appearance and circumstances.
The Crown That I Wear is the experience of many little girls, now women of many ages and stages of life, scattered all across the world in cultures that have been woven into more prominently acceptable aesthetics. The single common strand is the journey of our hair – a bonding experience with our caregivers, and sisters, and a coming into ourselves as we braided into our minds wisdoms from our experiences and stories from our community as we develop a reckoning of who we are and what place we are to hold in this world.
The story is set on a Saturday, hair washing day, when a young girl’s questions indicate to her mother who is combing her hair, that it is time to teach her daughter a lesson. The story meanders through the tale of our journey and associates our hair
with the steps through our history to now, giving the young girl a vital lesson in what makes her who she is, evoking pride and respect for the journey, and her hair. It is told in rhythm and rhyme using words that will encourage learning, in a melody that sways from here to there- all the while keeping the rhyme and interest.
The purpose of the story and the Kjaerebooks Instagram Community is to provide a supportive space for the awareness and embracing of the beauty of Afro-textured hair. To evoke a sense of pride and confidence in the reader of African descent, and to encourage understanding and appreciation for the non-African reader with a view to create a higher level of tolerance and daresay Agape. (For self and for others.)
Whilst today it is certainly more popular to wear our African-ness out loud, Jackson believes that there is some little girl out there who still needs this balm. Who still needs to be reminded of her beauty as she looks endlessly on non-African images parading around every type of media. Who needs to understand that her beauty is not measured on a curve of mixed racial ethnicities. And that her hair is. And she. Is. Beautiful.
Jackson’s intention for the book is that young black girls will embrace their natural hair, and even if they choose to not sport natural kinks, that it will be based on a decision made out of love and not fear or seeking external approval. She hopes that the book will resonate with woman of African ethnicity by promoting healing, encouraging self-acceptance and evoking a sense of pride and a sisterhood of respect. The book is also designed to encourage a change of the narrative across cultures, genders and races towards beauty, worth and the little girl who is in every Black woman.
- Joan Andrea Hutchinson Formerly “Dat Bumpy Head Gyal”
The Crown That I Wear is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book formats. Learn more about Kamille Jackson at www.kamillejackson.com
Contact information:
Kamille Jackson kjaerebooks@gmail.com www.kamillejackson.com @kjaerebooks on IG 876-294-1365
