Hair Love director and writer Matthew A. Cherry addressed the importance of normalising Black hair during his acceptance speech on stage at the 92nd Academy Awards .
The short animated film, which tells the story of a Black father who wears his hair in locs and learns to do his daughters hair for the first time, won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film on Sunday.
Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver, a producer of Hair Love, both addressed the importance of representation in cartoons as they accepted the award on stage.
Toliver noted that the Hair Love filmmakers are firm believers that representation matters deeply, and especially in cartoons, which are often when we first see our movies.
Great times at our #HairLove pre-Oscar dinner sponsored by @Dove. We showed Deandre and his family a lot of love. Thanks for coming through Senator @HollyJMitchell, @DwyaneWade & @itsgabrielleu. Cant wait for tomorrow. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/Ob2b8mSD3h
Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) February 9, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Matthew A. Cherry","author_url":"https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry","cache_age":86400,"description":"Great times at our #HairLove pre-Oscar dinner sponsored by @Dove. We showed Deandre and his family a lot of love. Thanks for coming through Senator @HollyJMitchell, @DwyaneWade & @itsgabrielleu. Cant wait for tomorrow. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/Ob2b8mSD3h Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) February 9, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1482,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQT-vNaU0AA7OsM.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1124,"title":"Matthew A. Cherry on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/1226385089887498241","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"archive","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"au","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5e40c6f3c5b6bb0ffc13f150","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/archive/au/entry/oscars-2020-hair-love_au_5e40c6f3c5b6bb0ffc13f150","entryTagsList":"identity,diversity,the-oscars,academy-awards,oscars,cultural-identity,black-voices,black-hair,hair-love,@chubwidget","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5e40c6f3c5b6bb0ffc13f150","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"identity","slug":"identity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/identity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/identity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/identity"},"section":{"title":"News","slug":"news"},"topic":{"title":"Identity","slug":"identity","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/identity"},{"name":"diversity","slug":"diversity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/diversity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/diversity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/diversity"},"section":{"title":"News","slug":"news"},"topic":{"title":"Identity","slug":"identity","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/identity"},{"name":"The Oscars","slug":"the-oscars","links":{"relativeLink":"news/the-oscars","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/the-oscars","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/the-oscars"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/the-oscars"},{"name":"Academy Awards","slug":"academy-awards","links":{"relativeLink":"news/academy-awards","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/academy-awards","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/academy-awards"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/academy-awards"},{"name":"Oscars","slug":"oscars","links":{"relativeLink":"news/oscars","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/oscars","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/oscars"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/oscars"},{"name":"Cultural identity","slug":"cultural-identity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/cultural-identity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/cultural-identity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/cultural-identity"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/cultural-identity"},{"name":"black voices","slug":"black-voices","links":{"relativeLink":"news/black-voices","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/black-voices","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/black-voices"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/black-voices"},{"name":"Black Hair","slug":"black-hair","links":{"relativeLink":"news/black-hair","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/black-hair","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/black-hair"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/black-hair"},{"name":"hair love","slug":"hair-love","links":{"relativeLink":"news/hair-love","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/hair-love","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/hair-love"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/hair-love"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">Great times at our #HairLove pre-Oscar dinner sponsored by @Dove . We showed Deandre and his family a lot of love. Thanks for coming through Senator @HollyJMitchell , @DwyaneWade & @itsgabrielleu . Cant wait for tomorrow. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/Ob2b8mSD3h
Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) February 9, 2020
Advertisement
Cherry called for the Crown Act , a bill first passed in California last year to protect Black people from hair discrimination, to be enacted in all 50 states.
He noted its importance to people like DeAndre Arnold, a Black teenager from Mont Belvieu, Texas, who made headlines last month after he and his family publicly revealed that he wouldnt be allowed to walk at his upcoming graduation unless he cut his locs.
Cherry, Toliver and other team members behind Hair Love, including Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, surprised Arnold with an invitation to attend the Oscars as a special guest of the film.
Advertisement
The high school senior hit the Oscars red carpet with his mother, Sandy Arnold on Sunday.
In his #Oscars acceptance speech, @MatthewACherry talked about The Crown Act. Hear him explain why the bill is so close to his heart pic.twitter.com/vLXKbpJIkg
Variety (@Variety) February 10, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Variety","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Variety","cache_age":86400,"description":"In his #Oscars acceptance speech, @MatthewACherry talked about The Crown Act. Hear him explain why the bill is so close to his heart pic.twitter.com/vLXKbpJIkg Variety (@Variety) February 10, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1226688947763310593/img/9MkkYaZvaRwDFj9y.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"Variety on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1226693899218911232","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"archive","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"au","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5e40c6f3c5b6bb0ffc13f150","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/archive/au/entry/oscars-2020-hair-love_au_5e40c6f3c5b6bb0ffc13f150","entryTagsList":"identity,diversity,the-oscars,academy-awards,oscars,cultural-identity,black-voices,black-hair,hair-love,@chubwidget","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5e40c6f3c5b6bb0ffc13f150","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"identity","slug":"identity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/identity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/identity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/identity"},"section":{"title":"News","slug":"news"},"topic":{"title":"Identity","slug":"identity","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/identity"},{"name":"diversity","slug":"diversity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/diversity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/diversity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/diversity"},"section":{"title":"News","slug":"news"},"topic":{"title":"Identity","slug":"identity","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/identity"},{"name":"The Oscars","slug":"the-oscars","links":{"relativeLink":"news/the-oscars","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/the-oscars","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/the-oscars"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/the-oscars"},{"name":"Academy Awards","slug":"academy-awards","links":{"relativeLink":"news/academy-awards","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/academy-awards","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/academy-awards"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/academy-awards"},{"name":"Oscars","slug":"oscars","links":{"relativeLink":"news/oscars","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/oscars","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/oscars"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/oscars"},{"name":"Cultural identity","slug":"cultural-identity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/cultural-identity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/cultural-identity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/cultural-identity"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/cultural-identity"},{"name":"black voices","slug":"black-voices","links":{"relativeLink":"news/black-voices","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/black-voices","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/black-voices"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/black-voices"},{"name":"Black Hair","slug":"black-hair","links":{"relativeLink":"news/black-hair","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/black-hair","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/black-hair"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/black-hair"},{"name":"hair love","slug":"hair-love","links":{"relativeLink":"news/hair-love","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/hair-love","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/hair-love"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/hair-love"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">In his #Oscars acceptance speech, @MatthewACherry talked about The Crown Act. Hear him explain why the bill is so close to his heart pic.twitter.com/vLXKbpJIkg
Variety (@Variety) February 10, 2020
_(720p).jpg)
 OFFICIAL HD MUSIC VIDEO.jpg)
.jpg)
