And how are the children?
“And how are the children?”
Such a lovely way to greet someone, and rightfully centered on our children because if they are well... our future is bright.
A lesson from a high school literature class: How can we mistreat the very people who's primary function is to care for our children... whom, by many measures, represent and reflect the best of what we do in life? We're talking teachers, childcare workers… women... the list goes on. Back in the day, women weren't even educated but were responsible for our children's education. And how this model was justified during the American slavery era... raising & nursing the master's children... is beyond our comprehension... as many things have been but don’t have to stay hidden.
Of all our creative projects, the space I enjoy the most is the kid lit space. As a newbie writer, I've spent time researching kid lit resources and looking for the spaces where a conscious effort to elevate all stories was mission critical. According to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, this was the state of children's literature in 2015:
David Huyck in consultation with Sarah Park Dahlen and Molly Beth Griffin
Animals/trucks have the same level of representation as Blacks, Asians, Pacific Islanders, Latinxs and Native Americans combined? If we examine the cultural markers of those animals and trucks... bet they reflect that 73.3% number for ‘whites’... And when we start looking at who is telling the stories of that marginalized 15% - 25%, more often than not, it's not the marginalized.
Corporate attempts at "diversification" often lack… diversity… All that aside, we were struck by the honesty of a particular blog post by a woman who's primary function was to increase "diversity" in the children's book division of her publishing house (I cannot find the article but if you happen across it, please share it with us). She admitted that she was not equipped to do her job alone....and that nobody was because no single person could possibly know how to identify and elevate all the different voices that needed to be elevated. She was determined to find creators with lived experiences that could create authentic stories.
Another amazing woman we discovered on twitter was Debbie Reese, publisher of American Indians in Children's Literature. Ms. Reese tweeted:
“Instead of writing a Native character or Native content into your story so you can “help” or “honor” Native ppl, buy bks by Native writers.”
Why do we focus on the children? We think this quote shared by Voices of Youth sums it up:
“At the beginning of creating my path in life, I lost myself trying to make “me” acceptable to others.”
Related Say ¿Qué? Designs: Top Spoken Languages
Beginning with the top ten most spoken languages in the world, in our Say ¿Qué? design series, we translated lists of words centered on love, family, peace and solidarity. Each design includes heart-shaped flags that provide a hint to the underlying language. Below are some of our favorites.
Wonder (World)
How do you say “wonder” in your language?
English <♡> Mandarin <♡> Hindi <♡> Spanish <♡> French <♡> Arabic <♡> Bengali <♡> Portuguese <♡> Russian <♡> Urdu <♡> Swahili
#TopTenSpokenWorld
Thank you [Xièxiè (谢谢), Dhanyavaad (धन्यवाद), Gracias, Merci, Shkran lak (شكرًا لك), Dhan'yabāda (ধন্যবাদ), Obrigado, Spasibo (Спасибо), Shukriya (شکریہ), Asante) for reading! #OurWorldOurHeart #VillageValues
