GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — The Oscar nominated short film, Hair Love, is getting a whole lot of love this week.
The film was first published as children's book, but in both formats, the beautiful story is the same. It's about a black dad learning to do his daughter's hair.
And those duties, for dads, mean a lot more than you may think - a reality educators Malik Talib Holland and David Anderson know well.
Anderson has four daughters and Holland has two.
“My daughter just called the other day and said I remember how you used to do my hair. It's a bond that is created and there is nothing that is better than that,” Holland said, noting his older daughter is now 21. “She brings stories up and ... I'm her hero stories. That's what you create when you are doing those types of things with your daughters. That hero for your daughter.”
The author of the Oscar Nominated film, Matthew Cherry, said he wanted to create something that would inspire black families and show black fathers in a tender and supportive role. Too often, black dads are labeled as absentee. But the most recent data from the CDC shows black dads are more involved in the lives of their children than any other ethnic group.
Anderson says perhaps it's because dads don’t always speak up. He said he never bragged about styling hair for his girls, however, he was proud when others noticed.
“I didn't highlight that I did it. I wouldn't say I was ashamed but it was probably the first time I was proud of myself … and somebody acknowledged that,” he said. “My kids are my life. My wife has three sisters and they all do hair but my wife didn’t get (that skill).”
In an interview with ABC NEWS, Cherry said he was inspired to “normalize” black hair and show that “dads are present.”
Cherry doesn’t have children. Before his success in the film industry he played for various NFL teams as a wide receiver.
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