This February, we were honored to read When We March as part of YWCA Bucks County’s “Reading to End Racism” annual fundraiser. Because we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, the annual program had to look a little different this year, which was to our advantage. It meant that Shannon (located in Nevada) and I (located in Colorado) could meet and share our book — and some hope — with a group of kids and staff members on the other side of the country in Pennsylvania.

We always gain so much from readings with a live audience. We learn about how to best discuss the book’s subject matter, what children think about the world we live in, and how we can work toward a world that more closely matches the way we dream it to be. That was true at this event, even with the Zoom-distance. We’re still thinking about one student’s interpretation that when we say “carry all hearts with us,” it means: “We take all the love with us, of all the people.” May it be so! May we continually learn to be better at standing together to make positive changes.

As usual, we asked the children to draw a self portrait of themselves at a march, focusing in on questions like:

• What do you have to say that’s important? What is most important to you?
• What hopes and dreams do you have for yourself, for your family, and for your community?
• Think about things you find unfair that you want to fix. What are they?

See below some of the beautiful results!

— Kimberly