Do not allow the prices of original works to convince you that art is a conversation only for the highly educated and well-read. Cultural experience brings a wealth of knowledge and the students even at their young ages were able to make meaningful connections and contribute insightful observations to our discussions.

Colorism has a high impact within all cultures globally. By providing students with a detailed art kit containing several shades of brown, I wanted the students to interpret their skin tone for more than the peach or brown or worse “skin color” crayon. We learned that skin hue is relevative and all beautiful.

We learned that all the features and characteristics associated with the African diaspora have tones of disapproval and inferiority embedded in our media, schools, and outtakes on beauty. We looked at art that challenged these standards of beauty

The book of who we are and why we are has been written and revised without our permission for thousands of years. I wanted our students to understand nuances like”single-parent households”, “war on drugs”, the “GI bill”, redlining, urban planning, gentrification, and mass incarceration to know these experiences do not define us but more importantly, are a product of a society designed to mitigate progress in our communities and silence black and brown voices