Joy Reid’s “Curly Hair” Adorably Caught the Eye of This 3-Year-Old Because Representation Matters

Congrats are in order for Joy Reid. The national correspondent and political commentator took over the former Hardball slot at MSNBC, becoming the first Black woman to anchor a prime-time news show specifically at the network. And she’s already making a difference. Reid wore her natural hair on her show, The ReidOut, and it caught the eye of CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams’ toddler.

Williams shared the story to Twitter on July 20, explaining that his 3-year-old pointed at Reid on the TV and said, “Mommy, she has curly hair just like me!” The tweet already has 15.5K retweets and comments and 132.6K likes—and counting. Reid saw the tweet and wrote: “This tweet is everything. Thank you and virtual hugs to your daughter!”

Everyone is talking about how overdue this show is for Reid, who is a brilliant commentator and interviewer. Just in her first week, she had guests including Hillary Clinton, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Senator Kamala Harris. No big deal?! So, of course it’s not all about her hair but it’s more important than ever that kids see themselves in media and know they’re represented in the world.

https://twitter.com/elliotcwilliams/status/1285357797266292744

Many on Twitter are sharing their memory of a beautiful time during the Obama administration that reminds them of this moment with Reid. There’s a famous photo of a little boy touching President Barack Obama’s hair. The boy is wondering if Obama’s hair feels like his does and the President lets him touch it to see.

https://twitter.com/funder/status/1285413103052771328

It’s a moment that proves how much representation matters, showing Jacob that someone like him could be president, too. And that’s what Reid is bringing to the newsroom. We’ll be watching.