(CNN) It was videos of black fathers lovingly styling their daughters' hair that inspired Matthew Cherry to launch a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 fund the short film, "Hair Love."

On Sunday, Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver accepted the Academy Award for best animated short film for the project.

The story of a dad struggling to do his daughter's hair not only charmed those who saw it, but resulted in a children's book and plenty of conversations about the importance of hair and heritage in the black community.

"Hair Love was done because we wanted to see more representation in animation," Cherry said during his acceptance speech. "We wanted to normalize black hair. There's a very important issue that's out there, the CROWN Act, and if we can't help to get this passed in all 50 states it will help stories like DeAndre Arnold's who's our special guest tonight."

Arnold, a senior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and his mother, Sandy, were invited to attend the Oscars as the guests of Cherry and Rupert Toliver.

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