“I Love My Hair!”

We all know about the children’s television show Sesame Street and its unique way of teaching kids different lessons. From ABCs to 123s, Sesame Street is the program many children learn from on a daily basis. Recently one of the writers for the show decided to write a song that would teach young African American girls about self-acceptance. The song is titled: “I Love My Hair,” and its sung by a little brown muppet with an afro meant to represent a little African American girl.

Joey Mazzarino, head writer for Sesame Street, wrote the song for his 5-year-old daughter Segi. He and his wife adopted Segi from Ethopia when she was a baby. As she got older and started playing with Barbie dolls, Mazzarino noticed a change it in his daughter. She would frequently complain about her hair, saying that it was “too poofy” and that she wanted it to be long, straight, and blonde like her dolls. Mazzarino became worried, and initially thought it was just a problem that white parents of African American children have. However he soon realized that this was an issue for most children in the black community.

Mazzarino wanted to tell his daughter, as well as all young girls that their hair is beautiful just the way that it is and that they should love it. And so, “I Love My Hair” was born! It premiered on the October 4^th episode of Sesame Street and since then it has become a viral sensation. With over a quarter of a million views on Youtube, this little muppet girl has been the topic of many conversations. She starts off by singing, “Don’t need a trip to the beauty shop, cuz I love what I got on top. It’s pretty and its brown, and it’s right up there”. Throughout the song she talks about the many different ways she can style her hair and why she loves it so much. This message has caused an outpouring of responses from women all over. Many women in the black community have struggled to teach their daughters acceptance and even shared the same feelings as Segi did when they were young.

You can watch the video on line at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enpFde5rgmw.

Mazzarino says he’s happy to report that Segi loves the song -

And her hair.