1. By Felecia Piggott-Long
Efuru’s Epiphany
By Felecia Piggott-Long

2. Efuru’s name means “daughter of heaven, according to her mother
Efuru’s name means “daughter of heaven, according to her mother. She always wore her natural hair in beautiful braids, and she celebrated her heritage through dance, music, and African American spirituality.

3. Efuru always prided herself in valuing her family values
Efuru always prided herself in valuing her family values. She honored her parents, lover her grandparents, and paid homage on a regular basis to her ancestors through libations and original poems or songs.

4. Whenever she saw young people around her age who were disrespecting their elders, she admonished them to give honor to those who have paved the way for the young people.

5. Efuru commanded respect from everyone who met her because she upheld her values, and she knew her worth. She never allowed anyone to disrespect her because she knew who she was.

6. One day she met Kwame, a new guy who came to her school
One day she met Kwame, a new guy who came to her school. All of the girls at Harriet Tubman High School had a crush on him because he was tall, dark and handsome, and he played lots of sports.

7. Efuru assumed that since Kwame had an African name and a cultural hairstyle, that he would appreciate her love of culture and heritage; however, he preferred women with straight hair who loved designer clothes. He fell for Desiree, a cheerleader with long hair.

8. Efuru was very disappointed that she had misjudged Kwame, but she really wanted to be his special friend. She decided that if she changed her hairstyle that perhaps he would look her way. So she did.

9. No one recognized Efuru, and they were very shocked that she changed from her natural hair style. In fact, many of them had already made plans to let their perms grow out so they could have full, kinky, luxurious hair like Efuru. Kwame did not even notice her. She changed her mind about using chemicals in her hair. She started her journey with her gelee.

10. By using her gelee Efuru could return to her original value system
By using her gelee Efuru could return to her original value system. However, she sought the help of her mother and grandmother as spiritual guides.

11. Efuru read about the rules of Maat, and she reclaimed her natural beauty and her love of self. She adopted the philosophy of “No apology and no fear about being me.”