One of the healthy habits I’ve been trying to get myself into is really keeping myself updated with what’s going on in the world. Watching the news feels overwhelming, especially before bed, and honestly I have a hard time trusting most major news outlets because they’re so politicized. However, I love listening to the Global News Podcast from BBC World Service on my way to work. Obviously, there is a lot of coverage right now about Covid-19 both here and abroad, mixed in with global political issues etc., but there are always one or two lighter stories that make me smile.
This is how I learned about Cocoa Girl, the UK’s first Black Girls‘ magazine.
Serlina Boyd was out shopping for magazines to keep her daughter, six-year-old Faith, entertained at the beginning of Covid-19 lockdowns and discovered that young black children weren’t represented. From there, Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy were born. Since publication, Cocoa Girl has experienced a surge in sales, selling more than 11,000 copies since it launched in June – at a time when print magazine sales are in decline.
Besides launching a successful magazine to fill a gap in the market, Boyd is using the experience as a supplement to distance learning. The magazine became a family project with her photographer husband shooting Faith as the first cover model.
We have lots of different sections in the magazine. There’s something for children with all interests including an inspirational section with girls who are doing things such as making their own hair butter, a section to show children how to grew their own plants and vegetables.
There’s a girl showing you how to bake and a black history section.
-Serlina Boyd
I grew up with the American Girl Dolls with their corresponding books and magazines. I loved learning about different cultures and histories or other (albeit, fictional) little girls in the books, along with real little girls in the magazine. I am so excited for this family and their venture and have actually already sent this mag to a couple of my friends with daughters.
These magazines aren’t geared just for black children they are for children from all races as it teaches them about the black culture and black history.
There are also features about different cultures from all around the world to educate children of all races.
-Serlina Boyd
I think the first time I really understood that racism went beyond overt hatred and violence was in high school. I was in a South African Studies class as a history/social studies requirement and our teacher had us take a quiz about how our race had affected us. The question that I specifically remember was “have you ever had a hard time or been unable to find a band-aid matching your skin color.”
I realized that I had taken this simple thing for granted my entire life. I knew that my black friends felt outnumbered at our mostly-white school, but it’s hard to fully understand if you don’t experience it. That one simple question about the band-aid made something click for me. I was living in a world that was made for me, while some of my closest friends had to adjust their expectations to a world that treated them differently.
Boyd didn’t simply adjust her expectation that her daughter and other little girls like her wouldn’t be represented, but created a space herself for that representation.
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