Carolivia Herron
Nappy Hair Summary
carolivia@carolivia.org
This is only a summary of Nappy Hair and other children's books in progress. Go to http://drumofanansi.org/nappyhair to see the main Nappy Hair site, currently under development.
Nappy Hair (Knopf, 1997) is a joyful celebration of African American hair told in the traditional call and response format of African American storytelling.
Since November, 1998, the story has been involved in controversy. A Brooklyn, New York teacher, Ruth Sherman, was verbally accosted by members of the African American community for reading the book with her class of African American and Hispanic children.
Although the exuberance of nappy hair is the plot of the book, Herron’s main purpose in writing it is to show the power and beauty of African American oral and epic poetry.
Her stimulating presentations involve extensive audience participation and demonstrate the connections between African American oral poetry and the traditional epics of Europe, Africa and the Americas.
Dr. Herron is developing a Nappy Hair Handbook as a teacher’s resource book for sharing Nappy Hair with youth and adults. This handbook will give history and context for the social and artistic qualities of African American oral poetry and the importance of African American hair.
Other children’s books in progress include The Cliffdweller Vision (children as writers), Sandy (the interconnection between African Americans and Native Americans), and Catalpa Tales (more family tales in the mode of Nappy Hair).
