7-Year-Old Wins Over $15,000 to Publish Her Comic Book Project

During a crowdfunding festival, 7-year-old Natalie McGriff won $15,000 of prize money that she will be using to publish her comic book The Adventures of Moxie Girl. Her hope is that her comics will empower girls of color. The Adventures of Moxie took its first step towards being created when Natalie told her mom she hated her natural hair and reading. She found reading boring and wanted her hair to be straight like other kid’s hair. Her mother told ABC News that “Me being black, of course, I used to get picked on in school for my natural hair, and I didn't want that to happen to my daughter… I wanted to step in, boost her self-esteem and foster a love of reading in her.” Natalie’s mother helped her create the superhero, Moxie. They chose the name Moxie because it is slang for “the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage.” The character is based on Natalie. She is a girl who does not like her hair. However, she gets a special shampoo from her grandmother that gives her hair superpowers and saves a library from monsters trying to devour its books. The two tried to get money to publish the book on the crowdfunding platform One Spark. They were top-voted in the “Education” category at the One Spark festival on April 12^th and received a check for $16,423.69. This included the $15,000 they won for being top-voted and the money they raised on One Spark. The book will be launching this month, the same month as Natalie’s birthday. She had these final inspiring words to say about the message she wants people to take away from her book: “We want girls of color to know they're awesome, that they have moxie and that they're young queens who should be proud of who they are and who they represent… Love yourselves, love your hair, your skin color. You're beautiful and awesome.” When I was seven, my biggest accomplishment was coloring inside the lines, so I really admire this girl for accomplishing so much at such a young age. She's a real inspiration. Find out more about Natalie's comic on the official The Adventures of Moxie Girl Facebook page.