As young girls, we struggle a lot with our self image. Whether you were constantly picked on as the middle child, or you were struggling with acne, life was tough as a little kid in a big world. Natalie McGriff is a 7-year-old, and like a lot of young girls, she's a little self-conscious about her hair. She's African American and wears two afro puffs on top of her head. Lately, however, she's been making her hair work for her. She made a superhero book called The Adventures of Moxie Girl to empower young girls of color. Step aside, Disney princesses. Natalie's superhero, Moxie Girl, is soaring to epic heights for female empowerment.
As someone who wages war on her frizzy hair and goes to great lengths to make it stick straight or functionally curly, I'm beginning to doubt my ways. Moxie Girl didn't change her hair—she made it into a super power. I need to take a leaf out of this girl's book, is all I'm saying. And speaking of books (catch that segue!) Natalie's book, "The Adventures of Moxie Girl," is due out in June. She won $16,000 to put toward publishing her book. She and her mother, Angela Nixon, live in Jacksonville, Florida and they are co-authoring the up-and-coming children's book.
Here's a peek into The Adventures of Moxie Girl:
In the book, Moxie Girl saves the Jacksonville Public Library from a group of book-eating monsters. HERO. She originally dislikes her hair, but after her godmother gives her a shampoo that gives her hair superpowers, she's ready to fight anything. Um, can I get some of this shampoo please?!
And here's the real live hero, Natalie, being interviewed on the radio:
Natalie just had her first photo shoot too! The theme was young black queens and I am dying because she looks so amazing:
It's safe to say these girls are doing amazing things.
Below, see Natalie posing with her grandmother after winning big at One Spark, the largest crowd funding festival in the world. It connects the content creators like Natalie to the resources needed to make their dreams a reality. "Moxie Girl" won big in the education category.
One of the most inspiring parts of this story is Natalie's beautiful relationship with her mother and co-author Angela Nixon. In an interview with ABC News, Nixon said, "Me being black, of course, I used to get picked on in school for my natural hair, and I didn't want that to happen to my daughter."
On the day of the festival, Nixon Instagrammed this picture:
Natalie is a true creator, and she's got the badge to prove it.
"I wanted to step in, boost her self-esteem and foster a love of reading in her," said Nixon.
Look at that red and blue hair. YOU GO GIRL.
They're still figuring out how widely the book will be distributed, but have already gotten inquiries from booksellers all over the world. Talk about a dream come true. For updates, follow The Adventures of Moxie Girl on Instagram.
Images: AdventuresOfMoxieGirl/Instagram, TheAngieNixon/Instagram
