"Growing up in 80’s in Germany, all my dolls except for one were white by default. Even the image of what was "beautiful," if you looked at Disney movies back then, the princesses were all blonde and blue eyed. So that was what we were striving for as a young girl."
"What our kids read, what they are becoming, believing, and seeing is what our world is going to become one day. Spread a feast in from of them, not just potatoes or plantains."
As a homeschool mom and a lover of literature (and people), I am so proud of this chat with Nancy Hartman. She is an incredible woman, half German-half Ghanian, and a homeschooling mom with a heart to highlight the beauty of diversity in Children's Literature. Listen in on this very honest chat about living your own truth, seeing beauty in differences, why it's important that children see characters in books that look like themselves, being intentional about selecting books written by people of color that tell an authentic story, and how we can be specific about seeking diversity in our faith. If nothing else and you want a laugh, listen to minute 28 where I try (unsuccessfully) to say the word "Championing" about a billion times.
"Our kids can know there’s beauty in differences and there’s nothing to be afraid of if someone is different, but more than that, they can glean so much richness out of other people."
Some topics that we touched on were:
-living your authentic truth
-teaching our children cultural traditions from their past
-living internationally minded
-recognizing the inherent beauty of our differences
-intentionality in choosing books by authors who are people of color with authentic experiences
-only 22% of children's literature is written by POC
-learning history from a variety of perspectives
-no one can tell your story like you
-the necessity of valuing someone else's story
-how the church could do a better job of intentional diversity
-challenges of a multi-ethnic community
-#readingblackout
-healing one another
-John M Perkins
-feeding our children a feast!
Follow Nancy's journey on IG at @therealbeautyindiversity or her website BeautyInDiversity.org
For recommended children's literature, check out "Grandfather's Journey" by Allen Say or Nancy's IG page for many more solid recommendations!
Resources mentioned in today's episode:
Charlotte Mason homeschooling method
Beautiful Feet homeschooling through literature
#Readingblackout
"Let Justice Roll Down" by John M. Perkins (biographical memoir)
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