As you can see, I wrote the below post about a month ago. I didn’t send out an email because I wasn’t sure it really said what I wanted it to. Things are very much the same yet very different now. I am definitely NOT appreciating the political situation as a diversion any more.

It is hard to have a conversation with friends and family, be sure to watch FOX and CNN and MSNBC, listen to NPR, try to be educated on all sides of Black Lives Matter, posting a black square on Instagram (but wait, maybe without the hashtag?), defunding the police, or the time sucking rabbit hole of YouTube….makes me tired just writing that. I was watching the news last night; Fox was showing the situation in Seattle as an unsettling takeover of six blocks with someone guarding the entrance, who was carrying an AK47 – but yes, they were wearing a mask. I guess they might kill someone but at least they won’t get the virus. I switched to CNN and Chris Cuomo was interviewing the Mayor of Seattle who considered the situation a festive street party/love in. Talk about confusing.

I’ve listened to opinions from Shelby Steele, a fellow at Stanford, to Killer Mike, a rapper. It’s interesting to hear all sides but also somewhat discouraging and depressing. But worth it because I can feel change coming.

I have been thinking about the way we raised our children not to see people with different skin color as any different than we are. Granted the boys went to a small neighborhood school, with only a few students of color but we thought it made sense to treat everyone the same in our household – with respect and hospitality. We were teaching our sons that people are just people, no matter what color they are. I think parents (and grandparents) are being called to do something differently today. I’m not totally sure what that is or how to exactly do that without painting whole cultures in a stereotypical way. But I’m certainly willing to listen, learn and try.

For me, and maybe some of you, I want to know what I, personally, have the power to do to make a difference. Let’s quit talking and arguing and do something. I think education for black children has absolutely got to get better. And I am trying to think of a way to help in that arena. I’m kind of tired of hearing the word “systemic” because it makes problems seem so unsolvable. I wish someone could tell us where “the system” begins (we know where it began but we can’t fix that), so that we can go to the source to begin to change. But that is of course, the hard part, the big question. Surely, we can band together and lift each other up. America is the greatest country on earth – I know we can do this. I’m confident God is ready to help.

But for now, this minute, these are the only things I can think of:

~Help my grandchildren celebrate and understand the rich and interesting diversity in our country and the world. I found and will post a list of children’s books on multiculturalism below. None of this will be news to our eldest grandson, Stanley, who is 4 and lives in Brooklyn. His preschool is the picture of diversity. But I did order a bunch of these books to read to my littles. I also ordered them from a black owned bookstore. That was WAY more fun than sending Amazon more money.

~Pray fervently for God to lead our country in tangible ways to close the racial disparity gap and for God to help us in our efforts to love our neighbors, our enemies, and all those who are enraged, sick, tired and dying as well as our elected leaders, police members who make a positive difference and those with voices for positive change.

~Try to remain open minded to all sides and appreciate our differences and others’ opinions.

It’s not much and may seem pathetic, but it’s all I’ve got at the moment. Please share in the comments what you have done/plan to do to help with the issues our country is facing.

And……when you are out and about, please continue to wear a mask and social distance, as much for yourself, as for those you encounter. At Edward’s café, here in Charleston, the staff is incredibly careful to wear masks, clean constantly, have very little physical interaction with the customers. But….Edward’s customers (and most others in town) seem to think the virus has passed and masks and social distancing can be relaxed or not heeded at all. Please do your part. COVID has not left the scene.

One last thing…I want to highly recommend 30 Days of Yoga with Adrienne. It is absolutely perfect for right now! It’s great for beginners and makes you feel so good to focus on something that will make you not only feel good physically but will also give your brain a little rest. It can be found on YouTube and is free. Give it a try – “classes” are less than 30 minutes. https://youtu.be/TXU591OYOHA

Do the best you can and do it with love!

Laura

CHILDREN’s BOOKS ON MULTICULTURALISM

Preschool

Ada, Alma Flor. I Love Saturdays y domingos. Illustrated by Elivia Savadier. Atheneum, 2002. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 8

Cumpiano, Ina. Quinito's Neighborhood = El Vecindario de Quinito. Illustrated by José Ramírez. Children's Book Press, 2005. 22 pages. Ages 3-5

Flett, Julie. Wild Berries. Translated by Earl N. Cook (Cree words). Simple Read, 2013. 32 pages. Ages 3-6

Hughes, Langston. My People. Photographed by Charles R. Smith, Jr.. Ginny Seo Books / Atheneum, 2009. 32 pages. Age 3 and older

Morales, Yuyi. Niño Wrestles the World. A Neal Porter Book / Roaring Brook Press, 2013. 36 pages. Ages 2-5

Slier, Debby. Cradle Me. Star Bright Books, 2012. 10 pages. Ages birth - 3

Steptoe, John. Baby Says. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1988. 23 pages. Ages 1-3

Thong, Rosanne. Round Is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes. Illustrated by Grace Lin. Chronicle, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 3-5

Williams, Vera B.. More, More, More, Said the Baby: Three Love Stories. Greenwillow, 1990. 32 pages. Ages 9months - 3 years

Woodson, Jacqueline. Pecan Pie Baby. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Putnam, 2010. 32 pages. Ages 3 - 6

Yum, Hyewon. The Twins' Blanket. Frances Foster Books / Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. 32 pages. Ages 3-6

Ages 5-7

Argueta, Jorge. Sopa de frijoles: un poema para cocinar = Bean Soup: A Cooking Poem. Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng. Groundwood Books, 2009. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 8

Atinuke, . Anna Hibiscus. Illustrated by Lauren Tobia. U.S. edition: Kane/Miller, 2010. 112 pages. Ages 4-8

Elya, Susan Middleton. Little Roja Riding Hood. Illustrated by Susan Guevara. Putnam, 2014. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Greenfield, Eloise. Honey, I Love, and Other Poems. Illustrated by Leo & Dianne Dillon. Harper, 1978.

Harjo, Joy. The Good Luck Cat. Illustrated by Paul Lee. Harcourt, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 7

Look, Lenore. Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding. Illustrated by Yumi Heo. Anne Schwartz / Atheneum, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 3-7

Meshon, Aaron. Take Me Out to the Yakyu. Athenium, 2013. 36 pages. Ages 3-6

Morales, Yuyi. Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book. Chronicle, 2003. 28 pages. Ages 4 - 7

Pinkney, Sandra L. Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children. Illustrated by Myles Pinkney. Scholastic, 2000. 28 pages. Ages 3 - 11

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Jingle Dancer. Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 8

Tafolla, Carmen. What Can You Do With a Paleta?. Illustrated by Magaly Morales. Tricycle Press, 2009. 32 pages. Ages 3 - 6

Uegacki, Chieri. Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin. Illustrated by Qin Leng. Kids Can Press, 2014. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Waboose, Jan Bourdeau. Morning on the Lake. Illustrated by Karen Reczuch. Kids Can Press, 1998. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 8

Ages 7-9

Ada, Alma Flor. My Name Is Maria Isabel. Illustrated by K. Dyble Thompson. Atheneum, 1993. 57 pages. Ages 7-9

Campbell, Nicola I. Shin-chi's Canoe. Illustrated by Kim LaFave. Groundwood Books / House Anansi Press, 2008. 40 pages. Ages 7-10

Cheng, Andrea. The Year of the Book. Illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. 160 pages. Ages 7-9

Compestine, Ying Chang. Crouching Tiger. Illustrated by Yan Nascimbene. Candlewick Press, 2011. 40 pages. Ages 4-8

Hamilton, Virginia. The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Knopf, 1985.

Lo, Ginnie. Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic. Illustrated by Beth Lo. Lee and Low, 2012. 32 pages. Ages 7-10

Myers, Christopher. H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination. Egmont, 2012. 32 pages. Ages 5–10

Myers, Christopher. Wings. Scholastic Press, 2000. 40 pages. Ages 5 - 11

Myers, Walter Dean. Looking Like Me. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. Egmont, 2009. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 9

Perkins, Mitali. Rickshaw Girl. Illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Charlesbridge, 2007. 91 pages. Ages 8-10

Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. Crown, 1991. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 11

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Indian Shoes. Illustrated by Jim Madsen. HarperCollins, 2002. 66 pages. Ages 6 - 9

Tonatiuh, Duncan. Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. Abrams, 2011. 32 pages. Ages 6-9

Ages 9-12

Alexander, Kwame. Crossover. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. 237 pages. Ages 10-13

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963. Delacorte, 1995. 210 pages. Ages 10 - 14

Grace, Catherine O'Neill and Margaret M. Bruchac, with Plimoth Plantation . 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving. Photographed by Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson. National Geographic Society, 2001. 48 pages. Ages 7 - 14

Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out & Back Again. Harper/HarperCollins, 2011. 262 pages. Ages 10-13

Lin, Grace. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Little, Brown, 2009. 278 pages. Ages 8 - 11

Marcantonio, Patricia Santos. Red Ridin' in the Hood and Other Cuentos. Illustrated by Renato Alarcão. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. 185 pages. Ages 8-12

Parker Rhodes, Jewell. Ninth Ward. Little, Brown, 2010. 224 pages. Ages 9 - 13

Resau, Laura. Star in the Forest. Delacorte Press, 2010. 149 pages. Ages 8-11

Sheth, Kashmira. Boys without Names. Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, 2010. 320 pages. Ages 9-13

Tingle, Tim. How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story. Roadrunner Press, 2013. 141 pages. Ages 10-13

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. Amistad / HarperCollins, 2010. 218 pages. Ages 8-12