“Brown Girls Can” by KaMara “KK” White aims to inspire young Black and brown girls.
When she was younger, White knew helping people was her dream. At first, she thought that would be through nursing or counseling, but a different path took her through health care administration and project management. However, White received her therapist license from the State of Kansas in 2017, and when the pandemic hit, she used the opportunity in 2021 to take a leap of faith and leave her job to become a full-time therapist — and then an author.
“I’ve always written, and I’ve journaled since I was 10, so I’ve always loved writing, but I had my little girl, and we bought a home in New Palestine not knowing that they lacked a lot of diversity,” White said. “I kept thinking about, ‘What can I do to try to remind her that you could do anything that you want to do, regardless of race or sex or whatever?’ And so, I wrote a children’s book.”
“Brown Girls Can” is essentially about her daughter, White said.
The main character, Laila, is named for and illustrated to look like her as well. The story follows Laila as she navigates the world, placing an emphasis on the idea that Black and brown girls can do anything and be anything they want, regardless of the color of their skin.
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Although White said she is originally “from all over,” including Kansas City and Louisville, having spent time in South Bend, Lexington and Cincinnati, she moved to Indiana about five years ago. They were both uncomfortable being one of — if not the only — Black family in their New Palestine. White said the people were nice, and it was too late to move again.
However, that meant her daughter would grow up and go to school with little to no representation around her.
“I wanted her to know that no matter what you see around you, that you can be anything, everything that you want to be,” White said. “We’re all beautiful regardless of the skin that we’re in, and so the book touches on that, but also touches on big picture things. You can be a president, you can be a business owner, you could be a doctor. You could be some of the bigger titles and careers that you don’t frequently see African Americans be a part of.”
“Brown Girls Can” was then published in May 2021 and the following year, White wrote and published the guided journal version for teenagers.
The “Brown Girls Can” children’s book and guided journal are available on Amazon as well as on White’s website. For more information about the book or her practice, visit thehealingcenterus.com.
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