Hair love scoops best animated short film at the 2020 academy awards

Hair love, a film all about a black father struggling to do his daughter's hair has been awarded Best Animated Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. After seeing videos of black fathers tending to their children's hair Matthew A. Cherry launched a Kickstarter campaign back in 2017 to create the heart-warming film. The success of the film led to many much-needed conversations about the importance of hair and representation in the black community. During his acceptance speech Matthew said, "We wanted to normalise black hair. There's a very important issue that's out there, the CROWN Act, and if we can't help to get this passed in all 50 states it will help stories like DeAndre Arnold's who's our special guest tonight." DeAndre is a high school student that the Hair Love Team brought to the Oscars after the teen was told to cut off his dreadlocks to comply with his school's dress code regulations for his graduation ceremony. Matthew told CNN News, "Deandre is such a good kid, and he shouldn't be punished for his hair. And we love that he didn't bend to the pressure to cut it... we think his hair is beautiful and this is the least we could do to support him and show him love."

A Long Time Coming

British Hairdressing Awards Hall of Fame inductee and former Afro Hairdresser of the Year winner Charlotte Mensah says, "Finally we are starting to see natural hair being honoured in Hollywood - it's been a long time coming. This amazing short animated film shows the important role that our hair plays in our lives. Being able to embrace and demonstrate different natural styles in your child’s hair journey builds a father child bond that will last a lifetime." [ytp_video source="kNw8V_Fkw28"]