But when we’re helping children understand how people from different walks of life can coexist and be celebrated in their own unique ways, prioritizing common ground too often obscures or erases uncommon experiences. On the surface, I see how some might think that an ode to sameness might seem safe and age-appropriate. “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something” is the central lesson of that book-and I hope we can all learn something from Kamala and Maya’s story, both on the page and in real life.Īs the mom of two Black daughters, I feel a particular obligation to help diversify by-lines and content in the right way: without tokenization or color-blindness. It’s based on a true story from the childhood of my mom, Maya Harris, and aunt, Kamala Harris, and their quest to build a playground in the empty courtyard of their apartment building. And this year, with my grandmother’s words guiding me, I published my first book, Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea. So I decided that - although I couldn’t fix the entire publishing industry - I could do my small part to make positive change. That same year, only about one in five children’s books were written or illustrated by people of color. In 2018, the year our youngest daughter was born, there were as many kids’ books published with animals as main characters as there were books with Black, Latinx, Asian or Native main characters combined.
#MAYA HARRIS AGE SKIN#
We were surprised and frustrated by how hard it was to find those books to fill our kids’ library often we were forced to change pronouns from “he” to “she” or “they,” and sometimes we even resorted to coloring a white characters’ skin with a brown marker. As new parents, my partner and I searched far and wide for children’s literature that reflected the diversity and complexity of our household and lives. She taught me I should always try to make an impact, wherever I was, however I could-big or small.
She was no stranger to protests and political rallies, but she also was a great example of living out everyday acts of resistance. “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something,” my grandmother used to say. She currently resides in San Francisco with her partner and two daughters. Meena Harris is the Founder and CEO of Phenomenal and the New York Times bestselling author of Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea.
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