Empowering Black Youth Through Representation
Serlina Boyd, a passionate advocate for inclusivity and representation, made groundbreaking strides in the publishing industry with the launch of Cocoa Girl, the UK’s first black children’s magazine.
Driven by a desire to build her own daughter’s confidence after she experienced bullying at school, Boyd set out to create a platform that would celebrate and empower young black children.
The overwhelming positive feedback and demand for Cocoa Girl, which grew a readership of over 10,000 children in just four weeks, spoke to the crucial need for such representation in the media.
Boyd’s mission is to ensure that black children everywhere know that they don’t have to change their appearance to feel beautiful, and to use the Cocoa platform to celebrate their culture while making black role models more visible.
From Passion to Publication
With her background as a qualified childcare provider and 18 years of experience in the publishing industry, Boyd was uniquely positioned to combine her passion for children and media.
The launch of Cocoa Publishing allowed her to tackle the deep-rooted problem of underrepresentation of black people in the mainstream media.
“Publishing Cocoa Girl has been an empowering journey for my family and especially my daughter (who is also the editor),” Boyd explains. “The overwhelming positive feedback and demand for our magazines confirms the crucial need to build a strong community for young black girls and boys who are often misrepresented by mainstream media.”
Cocoa: More Than Just a Magazine
Cocoa is more than just a magazine; it is a community. In addition to the Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy publications, Boyd has established the Cocoa Dream Society, a charity dedicated to helping children, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds, increase their literacy skills through free writing and journalism workshops.
“Cocoa is more than just a magazine it is a community,” Boyd states. “The society plans to raise money for a hub where children can come together and learn to write and become journalists. We will also run parent groups, facilitate a SEN Centre and empower the community with a few community festival events each year.”
Accolades and Recognition
Cocoa’s impact has not gone unnoticed, as the publication has been the recipient of several prestigious awards. In 2020, Cocoa won the ‘Newcomer Award’ at The Independent Awards and the ‘Launch of the Year’ at The BSME Awards, cementing its status as a game-changer in the children’s publishing sector.
“Many have said Cocoa magazine was ‘The most exciting launch in the Children’s sector with a real USP’,” the publication’s background states. “As seen from extensive media coverage Cocoa Girl issue 1, sold over 11,000 copies just from online orders, and at one point it was selling over 1,000 copies a day.”
