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Kiri Davis explores issues of self-esteem and racial identity<br />
among Black girls with her film, A Girl Like Me.<br />
Kiri Davis: A Girl Like Me<br />
KIRI DAVIS IS A YOUNG AND GIFTED<br />
filmmaker, writer and entrepreneur. She<br />
began expressing her artistic talents<br />
earlier, first as an entrepreneur designing<br />
and selling her own jewelry line and then<br />
as a filmmaker. She has directed several<br />
short films and became famous with her<br />
first documentary “A Girl Like Me”, which<br />
she produced when she was only sixteen.<br />
Only seven minutes long, A Girl Like<br />
Me explores the standards of beauty<br />
imposed on today's Black girls. The film<br />
shows how such beauty standards and<br />
cultural ignorance affect self-esteem and<br />
self-image. In the film, we see 15 out of 21<br />
Black children choose a White doll over<br />
a Black doll when given a choice between<br />
the two. They also consistently claim<br />
that the White doll is “nice” because she<br />
is White and the Black doll is “bad”<br />
because she is Black. When the credits<br />
roll at the end, we see images of Black<br />
girls getting their hair permed and<br />
pressed. One girl gets a weave.<br />
Since 2005, the film received numerous<br />
awards including the Urban League<br />
Guild: “Vanguard Award,” Hampton Film<br />
Festival “Golden Starfish Award,” and<br />
The Media That Matters “Diversity<br />
Award.” “A Girl Like Me”has also been<br />
featured in over twenty film festivals<br />
including the Tribeca Film Festival and has<br />
screened worldwide.<br />
Kiri has been presented with the “Racial<br />
Justice Award” by the National YMCA in<br />
April and received the 100 Black Men of<br />
America's “Outstanding Youth Award for<br />
Broadcast Media” in June.<br />
Kiri was featured on The Oprah Winfrey<br />
Show, The Today Show/Headline News, Good<br />
Morning America, ABC World News, and Sharp<br />
Talk with Al Sharpton. National radio<br />
shows include: The Steve Harvey Morning<br />
Show and National Public Radio’s "Talk Of<br />
The Nation.”<br />
Kiri’s goal is to develop more projects<br />
that will help her community and give a<br />
much-needed voice to issues that pertain<br />
to people of color. She recently graduated<br />
early from Urban Academy in New York<br />
City and plans to attend Howard<br />
University.<br />
A Girl Like Me may be viewed on YouTube or<br />
"http://www.kiridavis.com" www.kiridavis.com.<br />
i me<br />
The film shows how<br />
such beauty standards<br />
and cultural ignorance<br />
affect self-esteem and<br />
self-image.<br />
SISTERHOOD<br />
AGENDA<br />
41<br />
SUMMER<br />
2007
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