Of the record millions of people who participated in the historic Women’s March on January 21, 2017—in Washington DC and all around the globe—many were children. Even more children helped from the sidelines, lettering homemade signs, painting t-shirts, knitting hats, and cheering on their adults. But how do we adults, their models, help kids understand the purpose of marching for a cause?
I wrote WHEN WE MARCH to answer this question. Peaceful protest is not just something to learn about in our history books (though that is really, really important too!).
As soon as I had words down on the page, I reached out to my cousin Shannon who marched with me in Denver among 100,000+ others in January 2017. She’s an educator—and an illustrator. Her drawings are playful and filled with such heart. Together, we’ve run with this project, taking inspiration from each other and from everyone we’ve shared the book with: parents, educators, and children.
WHEN WE MARCH presents a joyous example of how we all, even the smallest, can use our voices to celebrate and promote the best in us.
Every child needs to know that their voice matters, that their neighbor’s voice matters, too—and that not every child has an equal opportunity to make that voice heard. We’re all in this together!
— Kimberly Rae Gilbert
WHEN WE MARCH 