Nashville middle school student inspires millions by proudly wearing 'Afro' to school
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) -- A middle school student in Nashville is going viral for a motivational video where she proudly talks about wearing her natural hair to her new school, just one day after being bullied for it.
In a video with nearly two million views and more than 100,000 shares and likes, Promise Sawyers promised to return to school "bigger and better" after receiving mean comments for her 'Afro.' The video has even landed her an interview on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," which airs Friday.
Sawyers has sported her natural hair her entire life, but started her new school year at Head Middle Magnet in Nashville by wearing braids for the first few days.
Then a couple weeks ago when she was a few days into the new school year, Sawyers decided she wanted to let her hair down again in an 'Afro.'
However, the usually happy-go-lucky 5th grader came home from school upset, telling her mom Qui Daugherty that she had a bad morning because of all the negative comments from other students about her hair.
Daugherty told FOX 17 News that in their house, they meet negativity with positivity. Daugherty asked her daughter how she felt that morning before she went to school.
"I felt confident and pretty," Sawyers replied, but says she was discouraged by all the negative comments. "At my old school, people thought my hair was cool."
That's when Daugherty came in with some motherly advice: You can't give people that much power.
The next day while Daugherty was getting ready, she noticed Sawyers had taken her phone and overheard her recording a message. Sawyers told her mom she was making a 'hype' video to pump her up before starting the school day.
In the video, Sawyers said other students had "mean things to say about it... so that made me feel some type of way."
She goes on to talk about her mom, her plans for that day at school and a motivational message for others:
"I told my mom and she said ,“Don’t forget who you are and whose you are!
And I said, "Okay.
So today, I’m going back to school and I’m coming back bigger and better.
And don’t allow anyone to steal your joy, don’t give them that much power.
I am Promise Miamor Sawyers"
Daugherty said she had no idea the video would get the type of response that it did, reaching millions of people. After gaining traction online, Sawyers was invited to L.A. to be featured on the Kelly Clarkson Show.
