EXAMPLE+OF+EXPOSITORY+WRITING

Patrice Washington  Right here  March 20, 2012

An Open Letter to Prospective __Mom__s of Black Female Children Anywhere

 Dear Prospective __Mom__ (Adopted or Biological) of black female child,

 I am writing this letter to share with you of some things I wished I’d known before meeting my beautiful biological daughter. As a mom of a black female child I’ve learned that hair, and hair care/grooming play such a huge part in raising this beautiful child. I grew up and never really realized the time and impact hair has had on the development of my own identity as a black woman. Hair is such an important part of life for little black girls of all backgrounds; that there are songs, documentaries, books, blogs, youtube channels, and campaigns dedicated to educating people on how to care for and maintain it. I hope you can benefit from the lessons I’ve learned in the three years that I’ve been a mom to a beautiful black girl.

 One of the things I learned and want to share is that not all black girls’ hair is the same. Make sense enough--so in turn different hair requires different care. In my quest to __educate__ myself about my own child’s hair I have learned that there are multiple textures of hair that require different type of attention. Even on top of one child’s head you could find multiple textures of hair that can change over time. It is important to understand the differences between hair textures and types in order to choose the right grooming routine for your girl’s tresses. Hair types are defined on a continuum of no curl (straight hair) all the way to the maximum amount of curl pattern (kinky). There are four major types of hair: straight, wavy, curly, and kinky. Your daughter’s hair will fall somewhere along this continuum and each type has its own set of techniques to keep __hair healthy__ and beautiful. Now I would love to tell you about how to take care of each type but the truth is I have no clue! I am still learning what products and routines work for my daughter’s curly/kinky 3c/4a hair.

 Another thing I want you to know is that the unspoken standard of beauty in the U.S. is straight hair, and it will take some conscious effort not to allow that fact to negatively affect your child’s self-image. The reality is that your black daughter will most likely have hair with natural curl to it. Because of this you will have to treat your daughter’s hair in a way that does not communicate to her that because it does not fit the “standard” it is somehow ugly. With some guidance from other mothers, I have learned some ways of doing this in my relationship with my daughter. I show her characters with her hair texture and comment on how beautiful they are. I comment on how beautiful her hair is often. I read books to her about girls with hair like hers. I don’t allow family members, friends, or strangers to comment negatively about her hair without loving correction. I try not to use words that might communicate a negative message about her hair (for example: wild, out of control, nappy, ugly, work). I know I can’t control how she will respond to having curly/kinky hair, but I am going to do all I can to __help__ her to know that it is beautiful, worth keeping healthy, and worth accepting just as it grows out of her head.

 I know this is a lot to take in but there is one more thing I want to share. This is my favorite part of having hair to groom on my little girl. The hair grooming time you spend with your daughter can be a positive bonding experience. When my daughter was first born I would nurse her and brush or stroke her hair. Eventually, as her hair grew I would do more styles to it but I always tried to keep “hair combing time” an un-rushed sacred time for the two of us. Even if you don’t know ONE THING about styling your black daughter’s hair there are people and resources out there that will help you. I promise you can learn, just like I did, to care for your little girl’s hair in ways that help her grow up loving her hair. I know that there is a lot to learn, and believe me I am still learning. To help you I’ve included a list of some of my favorite web sites and books that have helped me. Enjoy bonding with your daughter over her hair.

 Sincerely,

 Patrice Washington (Mother in Training)

 This is a list of blogs, sites, books, and shows that either I have learned a lot from, or that my daughter likes. I hope it can help you as you learn how to take care of your little black girl. Take care.

Resource list


 * Websites/Blogs: **

 Chocolate Hair Vanilla Care

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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> Motown Girl

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">[|http://motowngirl.com]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> Afro Puffs and Ponytails

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">[|http://afropuffsandponytails.com]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Children’s Books **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> My Hair Is Beautiful: Because Its Mine by Paula Dejoie

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I Love My Hair! ** By Natasha Tarpley

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">Bintou's Braids by Sylvianne Diouf

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> Chocolate Me! <span class="ptbrand" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">by Taye Diggs and Shane Evans

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> Please, Baby, Please <span class="ptbrand" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">by Tonya Lewis Lee and Spike Lee

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Videos/Movies/Shows **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> Sesame Street I love my hair

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;"> Super Why (PBS KIDS)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">[]