Author and filmmaker St. Clair Detrick-Jules’ work touches on topics like Black liberation and women’s justice. She is speaking at Montana State University as part of its Black History Month Celebration.
Detrick-Jules’ work includes two films and the celebrated children’s book, “My Hair is Like the Sun.” The book pairs photos of Black kids’ natural hair with illustrations of the sun, stars, and clouds - natural elements that evoke the diversity of Black hair.
“We're forced to think about it, right?” she said. “We're forced to think about when I go to a job interview, when I do a presentation when I'm meeting colleagues, whatever it is. We have to think about our hair because we know that other people are often going to judge us by our hairstyle.”
Detrick-Jules’ talk, hosted by the Diversity and Inclusion Student Commons and the Associated Students of MSU, centers on her first book, “My Beautiful Black Hair.”
Although Detrick-Jules’ work centers on Blackness, courage is the subtext - a message that resonates with everybody, regardless of race.
“I think that we've all felt moments of fear and having to choose between being our most authentic selves or doing what we think will make others happy,” she said.
The event takes place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7 in MSU’s Strand Union Building, and is open to the public.