Skip to content
Detrick-Jules

My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood

Appearance Date: 10/29/2022

A collection of empowering stories and captivating photos, My Beautiful Black Hair celebrates an aspect of Black femininity—natural hair—and embraces it as a central part of Black womanhood. My Beautiful Black Hair is a book about Black women embracing their natural hair. One hundred and one Black women share their stories of learning to love their natural hair and the immense power in that self-love.

St. Clair Detrick-Jules was inspired to write the book when her little sister, Khloe, came home from preschool where a classmate had told her that her hair was ugly. St. Clair wanted to send a message to Khloe and young Black women everywhere that their hair is beautiful just the way it is. The stories she captured reveal both the depth of the physical and emotional damage done to many women by relaxing their hair and trying to make it look “acceptable,” and the incredible resilience, self-love, and acceptance they gained by learning to embrace their hair and free themselves from Eurocentric beauty standards. Accompanied by beautiful and intimate photographs of each woman, the book is an encouraging voice for young Black women and the adults of all backgrounds who remember their own journeys to self-acceptance.

Meet the Author

St. Clair Detrick-Jules
St. Clair Detrick-Jules

St. Clair Detrick-Jules, author of My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood, is an award-winning Afro-Caribbean filmmaker, photographer, author, and activist. She captures personal stories and intimate moments centering Black liberation, immigrant justice, and women’s rights. St. Clair has a BA from Brown University in French and Francophone Studies. She has been featured in The Washington Post, Washingtonian, BuzzFeed News, Allure, Glamour UK, Byrdie, and NPR’s Strange Fruit, among others.

Thank you!

Thanks so much to all who attended this year’s festival! Please provide feedback about your experience by submitting a survey. 

KY Book Festival Books footer-01