Photo credit: David Noles
As audiences prepare to see the long awaited and highly anticipated “Black Panther” movie, co-starring and Oscar-winning actress, Lupita Nyong’o also has another project that is just as noteworthy.
Nyong’o has recently announced that she wrote a children’s book, entitled “Sulwe”, which means “star” in Nyong’o’s native language of Luo. The forthcoming book chronicles the experiences of a 5-year old Kenyan girl of the same name. Sulwe also happens to have the darkest complexion in her family and she is desperate to lighten it. Also being of Kenyan descent, Nyong’o has shared her own personal struggles with accepting and embracing her darker skin. Through Sulwe’s nighttime adventures, young readers will be encouraged to embrace all types of beauty and to be proud of whatever skin they’re in.
Nyong’o delivered a powerful speech at an Essence’s annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon in 2014, stating: “I hope that my presence on your screens and in magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty, but also, get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside. That there is no shame in that beauty.”
It is clear that her newest project seeks to put these sentiments into practice and continue to spread messages of acceptance and self-love to young women and girls. In an Instagram post earlier this week, Nyong’o gushes: “This is a story for the little ones, but no matter the age I hope it serves as an inspiration for everyone to walk with joy in their own skin.”
Publisher, Simon & Schuster, are set to release “Sulwe” in January 2019. In the meantime, be sure to check out Marvel’s “Black Panther” at a theatre near you next month.