Becoming a mother and founder of the Working Moms in 20s organization, you are forced to view things from a different perspective through the eyes of your child and many parents. I found myself and many other parents could not provide an explanation to our children, why most of the superheroes on their favorite television stations and story books did not resemble their Fathers, Uncles, Big Brothers, Grandfathers, or themselves.
To my knowledge there has never been an action hero represented from an African descent in any major motion animated picture, children?’s book or comic books. Then the idea bulb went off in my head. I decided to create real a action hero derived from African folklores to add an element of reality to the action figure AKITI THE HUNTER. It worked! I saw this was my opportunity to speak to every child in the world. Any child that may feel underrepresented on book shelves or television programining from all across the world. This book was made just for you. You too, are heroic with super strengths and magical powers.
My hope is that AKITI THE HUNTER can make a positive impression on how young boys and girls from around the world view themselves. They also deserve to be celebrated, immortalized, and represented in a positive light. AKITI THE HUNTER presents a great opportunity to not only give my child a fictional animated hero, but also to other children across the globe.
I am interested to see how this can have a positive psychological effect in our children and their perception of self. I look forward to the day, when young boys and girls, start to view themselves as heroic no matter their place of origin.
In my household, it is safe to say that everyone looks like and can identify with AKITI THE HUNTER and that has made a difference for us.