According to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center, one out of five children in the U.S. The bullying epidemic is not exclusive to our shores as British-born Tiana Akoh-Arrey proves. The beautiful nine-year-old was bullied for her hair texture. Not willing to let her bullies win, Tiana turned her negative experience into a best-selling book to share her journey with others.
“One day at school, a kid made fun of my Afro and said that it made me look like a lion,” Tiana recounted in a recent interview with Ebony. “That made me really sad, so I asked my mom to straighten my hair to look like my other friends who did not have an Afro. She explained to me that I should learn to be proud and accept my hair as it is because it’s beautiful. I was trying my hand at writing short stories, so I decided to write about my hair.”
Tiana has been cultivating her talent as a writer since the age of three/four-years-old. Therefore, turning her project into a published work, at the age of seven, was not a far stretch for the young author.
Tiana’s book entitled, “My Afro: Twin Best Friends” is a book that fills all 30-pages with a tale of inspiration, diversity, love, inclusion, friendship, and self-acceptance.
“My Afro: Twin Best Friends is about my experience with my thick, coarse Afro hair while my best friend has silky, straight hair, but we want to look alike for picture day,” explained Tiana in her interview. “The story follows my journey as I explore friendship, self-acceptance and identity. Through this, readers can learn how to embrace who they are and celebrate differences in others.”
Tiana hopes that other Black little girls will be able to relate to her story and hopes that she is also empowering someone else to love their beautiful coily locks.
“I am happy I have managed to not feel small but also helped other girls have the courage of wearing their Afro hair in all shapes and styles without feeling embarrassed about their hair or caring what people say. I feel like I have been empowered and also empowered others.”
“My Afro: Twin Best Friends” is available at Amazon.com and would make a great addition to any home library!
