DURHAM, N.C. Oct. 20, 2020 — Writer San Griffin in “Black Hair Love for Teens and Up” offers a collection of poems aimed at encouraging Black people to love their hair and, thusly, themselves. She educates, getting into what has been a sore spot in the Black community — the notion that straight hair is good and nappy hair is bad. Griffin — who has a bachelor’s degree in child development and family relations, and she earned a master’s degree in human development — weaves in the origin of good hair-bad hair, plus other cultural flashpoints, turning them into cornerstones on which to rebuild what she sees as broken in the Black community.
Although the Black community is Griffin’s target audience, she said her poems are apt conversation starters for this time in American history.
“Our country is more divided right now than it’s ever been,” Griffin said. “We’re extremely divided politically as we get ready to decide who will be the next president of the United States. Much of that division has to do with poor race relations. We need to find common ground around which to have productive conversations. Black people discussing Black hair with folks of other races is a way to do that in a manner that’s weighty but not too heavy.”
Griffin’s other books include “Black Hair Love” and “Black Hair Love for Preschoolers.” She is available for workshops and speaking engagements through Aggrandize Your Life, LLC. Send queries to [email protected]. Reach her at 919-308-1697. More information is at www.blackhairlove.info.
