Loving the Skin You’re In Lessons Learn in a Picture Book by Lupita Nyong’o by yvonne j. medley for the urban sentinel
“Sulwe has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything. In this stunning debut picture book, Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o creates a whimsical and heartwarming story that will inspire children to see their own unique Beauty.” In Sulwe, (released in November, 2019 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers), readers of all ages will stumble upon the stunning, yet, vulnerable transparency of Lupita Nyong’o—vividly drawn for all to see. In May at BookExpo America (BEA) held in New York, the actress stood behind a podium, preparing to share details about her latest endeavor. Nyong’o, 36, who won an Oscar for the film, titled, 12 years a Slave, grew emotional, speaking about the influence 16
she now has as a role model for others— especially young girls. She teared up. “Sulwe,” she told an auditorium packed with writers, publishing industry insiders, booksellers, librarians, and avid readers that, “this story is near and dear to my heart.” But when Nyong’o was approached with the idea of penning a picture book, she politely pooh-poohed it. However, the literary world beckoned because the acclaimed actress owned a personal story that needed to be shared. In 2014, when Nyong’o received an award at Essence Magazine’s 7th Annual Women in Hollywood Luncheon, her agent spied both premise and potential in the acceptance speech she rendered. “Essence is of course a big beauty magazine that celebrates black beauty in all of its forms—the beauty we possess and also the beauty we produce,” said Nyong’o, who is also a producer. “I took that opportunity and that platform to talk about a time when I struggled to find beauty in my own dark skin.” She was hopeful that her presence
in magazines, said Nyong’o, “would be a source of validation for young people, growing up, struggling today. That speech struck a chord with many people and was shared far and wide on the Internet.” Gradually, she realized, she said, “that the lessons I had learned, and was hoping to teach about self-love and self-acceptance needed to be heard by people who are not going to click on my speech.” “It needed to be heard by children— at the precipice of change—right when they’re starting to get a sense of the larger world, and starting to internalize how other people see them. I wanted to talk to that impressionable child, who has always been told that they were not valuable by anybody. I wanted to change the course of their suppression thinking. ” Growing up, Nyong’o struggled with being the bearer of a dark-skinned hue. Her parents were loving and supportive, she expressed, but they, alone, were no match to combat how societies, worldwide, view dark skin versus light skin. For proof, at the BEA, the actress, also notable for her work in the films Black Panther and Us, and for her contributions to the stage, laid out a few illustrations found in various literary classics, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. And she compared them to several children’s books to which she was privy as a child that depicted black characters in hideous and derogatory fashion. In her picture book, Nyong’o bravely pulls down the prejudice and pain of colorism among people of the same ethnic and racial group. Strategically, she confronts the issue, head-on, while also managing to be whimsical, engaging and fun. “When children’s books are successful,” Nyong’o said, “they are lessons, deferred. We love them now. And understand them later. The value
