A Q&A with Katie Engelking and Marley Olivera – Indiegogo Weblog

There’s no straightforward approach to discuss race in America. Many individuals merely decide out of the dialog because of this. However how can issues change if nobody is keen to acknowledge that inequities exist?

Educators Marley Olivera and Katie Engelking are tackling this subject head-on with their undertaking Seeing Colour, Acknowledging Variations, a pair of complementary kids’s books geared toward bringing conversations about race into colleges.

We not too long ago caught up with Marley and Katie to listen to about their experiences writing the books, the challenges of instructing in Chicago, and the way to greatest encourage conversations about race in America. Right here’s what we came upon.

What’s your founding story? How did all of it begin? 

Katie: For me, the journey started once I was ending up my Masters this yr. I used to be doing a program on the College of Illinois to turn into a principal, and a variety of my research centered on fairness and management. As I did my studying about fairness, I form of discovered myself doing a number of double takes as a white particular person. I discovered myself always studying or reflecting on what I discovered rising up, and I started realizing that we didn’t actually discuss race. It simply wasn’t a subject of dialog, nor was it talked about in school. 

You be taught that you simply’re speculated to be colour blind — we’re all human, let’s maintain palms, we’re all the identical. And naturally we’re all the identical on many ranges, however in the true world it’s simply not the way it works. So I started actually digging into the studying. 

Then I assumed to myself, Marley and I are tremendous shut and we had these sorts of conversations after we had been instructing collectively in Chicago. And so I mentioned, Marley, what do you say we be a part of the dialog? I feel the 2 of us collectively may do one thing actually significant. If persons are studying one thing that was written by individuals of various races and coming collectively to consider the place we may do extra studying, then one thing may come of this. It may assist lecturers have discussions within the classroom. We may assist dad and mom at residence. It may assist companies in skilled improvement settings. A variety of dad and mom and adults generally simply don’t know the way to discuss race. And we are able to begin with ensuring everybody is aware of you may and may see colour and you’ll and may acknowledge variations.

Marley, the place does the story begin for you? 

Marley: For me, it begins even additional again. Like Katie mentioned, we’ve been associates for a very long time, beginning off as lecturers a few years in the past. And on the time we began instructing in Chicago, a variety of issues had been taking place within the metropolis of Chicago. You had the homicide of Laquan McDonald and a variety of related problems with police violence taking place across the nation. And naturally, college students introduced these points into the classroom. We spent lunches speaking about these occasions in order that we each may higher perceive the group the place we had been and the scholars that we had been serving. It constructed an environment of belief between us. What’s what all of that stemmed from. 

Whilst a Black lady speaking to my Black college students about sure issues, typically it’s laborious to make use of the suitable verbiage. It made me really feel susceptible in a manner. So having each views, mine and Katie’s, has helped create a variety of stability alongside the way in which. 

It’s clear, so nothing will be misconstrued as effectively.

May you inform us about your undertaking, Seeing Colour? 

Katie: Seeing Colour is 2 books, representing two completely different views round race and fairness. They’re kids’s books, so that they’re relatable for kids, but additionally for the dad and mom and lecturers who’ll be studying them to kids. 

The primary one is known as I See Colour, I See You. It’s about studying to be okay with acknowledging the completely different races round you. It begins with a child saying to a classmate, I don’t care that you simply’re Black — that doesn’t imply something to me. And he thinks he’s doing the suitable factor by saying that. And actually what he does is upset this different scholar as a result of being Black is a crucial a part of his identification. 

Alongside the way in which, you be taught that your Black associates are completely different from you as a result of they’ve completely different experiences from you. And perhaps as you become old, you perceive why, due to the historical past of this nation and the techniques of racism that exist. A part of the e-book can also be a dad acknowledging to his son that he has a variety of studying to do too. 

What’s the second e-book about? 

Marley: It’s referred to as Do You See Colour, Do You See Me? It facilities round a younger Black woman, McKinley, who understands who she is as a younger Black woman in America. She understands she’s Black, however she additionally understands that she’s far more than that, that she’s proficient, that she’s good, that she’s outspoken. 

And he or she’s at this level the place she’s attempting to do one thing and different individuals’s concepts of what an individual like her must be doing. They put a restrict on her. She’s shocked. She begins to query herself. 

However by speaking to her dad and mom, she begins to know that it’s okay for her to say she’s proficient. She will be able to do these items not simply because she’s proficient, not despite being Black, however as a result of she’s rattling good at them. 

A variety of occasions individuals prefer to pigeonhole Black women, consciously or unconsciously. And on this story, McKinley overcomes this. She turns into the particular person she needs to be.

How a lot does private expertise inform these tales, each as white and Black ladies, and as lecturers? 

Marley: Do You See Colour, Do You See Me? is deeply private for me. I’ve seen it as a instructor, and I’ve seen it as a Black lady. If a Black woman expresses herself a specific manner, the response that she will get from adults will be utterly completely different from the reactions different women get. 

It’s about planting that seed actually early for younger women that they don’t want to adapt or change themselves with a view to be palatable to others. And as a instructor, I do know that lecturers and different adults are those who’re stifling them from the start, more often than not with out even realizing it. So I’ve seen it on each ends.

How did you give you the concept of addressing a number of audiences? 

Katie: We knew that a few of these concepts is likely to be just a little bit tough for a kid. They’re going to have hassle greedy a number of the ideas in there. So we deliberately needed to emphasise the truth that a mother or father ought to observe up with their baby about these concepts. However they should perceive the concepts themselves first. We purposely embedded social and emotional moments into the story to indicate that our grownup characters within the books are nonetheless studying. They’re just a little uncomfortable at occasions, however it’s okay. They notice, “I’m studying, and meaning I’m rising.”

So that you’ve simply surpassed your $20,000 objective. Congratulations! What is going to your fund be going in direction of? 

Katie: A variety of will probably be going to the publishing course of and to our illustrator.  The self-publishing course of has a printing minimal, and ultimately we wish to give again and and begin distributing these books to varsities all through the Chicago public faculty district, and hopefully past. We’ve so many associates which might be working in different colleges, and we plan to print as many as we are able to to get it in as many palms as attainable. 

The place will we have the ability to get this e-book as soon as it’s revealed? 

Katie: We’re publishing by BookBaby, which has print-on-demand distribution. You’ll have the ability to go to our web page on Bookshop and never solely buy our books, however books we love from different authors and have positioned in our store. By print-on-demand our books shall be accessible on on-line shops like Amazon, Barnes and Noble or wholesale e-book networks. We can have info on our social media accounts as soon as the books are prepared for buy. Individuals may also go to our web site theracetounderstand.com for updates!

Is there the rest you’d prefer to share? 

Marley: I wish to share that this isn’t a time to shrink back from all these conversations. Greater than ever, we have to have these conversations. And the sooner that we are able to begin to have these conversations with our kiddos, the higher off we’re going to be in our subsequent years. 

These conversations solely get extra uncomfortable the longer that we resolve to not have them. And it doesn’t matter what group you come from, it’s a must to be effectively conscious of the way to handle these numerous conditions. As a Black lady, I’ve to pay attention to the way to handle the state of affairs. As somebody who’s white, Katie has to pay attention to the way to handle the state of affairs. It’s not simply the one or the opposite. It’s everybody having to come back collectively and do the legwork. 

Katie: I’d undoubtedly say don’t be afraid to choose up a e-book that pushes you exterior of your consolation zone. Don’t be afraid to have White Fragility in your hand on a airplane, for instance. Don’t be afraid to offer your cash to a trigger you imagine in even when others aren’t there but.

Remaining query: What are a number of books that everybody ought to learn to higher perceive the subject?

Katie: Positively White Fragility. It’s an amazing e-book for understanding that if you’re doing this type of studying, individuals round you will obtain it in a different way. You’re going to be uncomfortable, and that’s okay. It’s a part of the method.

Learn how to Be Anti-Racist is one other good one. It has related classes and shares the way to put them into motion. 

Marley: I really like Stamped from the Starting by Ibrahim X. Kendi. There are two variations of it. There’s the grownup model, and there’s a child model of it. I additionally like Nic Stone’s Pricey Martin. It pulls a variety of completely different points that youngsters could also be going through how a scholar navigates between these completely different inequities. It helps open up the dialog early, and that’s so essential in bringing individuals collectively.

To assist Seeing Colour – Acknowledging Variations, take a look at the marketing campaign web page right here.

Need to discover another nice crowdfunding campaigns? Try a few of our present favorites.