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We thought about Cornelius Washington and Trombone Shorty’s values and how those values were reflected in their interactions with their communities. We made a lists of values that we had and what we thought was important.

Using our list, we thought of ways our values are reflected in our own actions with friends. We identified actions things we do frequently where our values shine, and also considered things we sometimes forget and can try to do more often.

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We created our own New Orleans neighborhood complete with beautiful houses and trombones, with trash trucks rolling through, onlookers looking on, and Trombone Shorty and Cornelius Washington themselves, spreading joy and sharing their light with others.

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We are hoping to work with Jay Hudson to make our own murals later this spring!

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We studied murals in DC advocating for DC statehood. We looked for symbols of DC and thought about the special parts of DC and how being a state would be more fair for this majority Black city. We also studied the work of Aniken Udofia around the city and how he represented the not-landmark, famous parts of the city, but the parts that make it home for him.

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We read books about Cornelius Washington and Trombone Shorty. Both engaged their communities attracting onlookers as they passed by through their neighborhoods inviting joyful second lines that followed behind them as they performed their tricks and played their music. In small groups we drew pictures of what we imagined that would look like.

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Black Joy Documentation Outline (aka what was in the Cottage 4 hallway)

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Mecca's collage, inspired by Everybody in the Red Brick Building

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I drew the book and she’s laying down in her bed, and her mommy’s reading a book and it’s also nighttime. They’re just playing a little bit and then it’s time for bedtime. And mommy doesn’t have her pajamas on but she does have her top pants on, and baby Izzy has her blue shirt on and she’s so happy she has her purple skirt. I draw the moon, and I love how I drawed her hair. And her hair is smooth like baby Izzy, and she is so happy her hair growed. And she has her favorite light sky and her favorite sparkle that she can give her. And her mommy says that she can have it now at bed time. I’m happy because I drew all the parts because Oge Mora would like it. I love Oge Mora because she reads so many favorite books I like.

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Ariah's collage, inspired by The Oldest Student

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I made the - him has white hair, and it makes me happy. Reading a book. They’re all reading a book too. And her so little. I love - with my family. And her, and a grandma, and a mom, and her, and a grandma, and her, and this lady, and another one lady, and another one lady. They’re at home. Oge Mora - her so happy.

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Henry's collage, inspired by Thank You, Omu!

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Henry: So, I drew the eyeballs. This is her eating the stew, and this is the steam going out. And this is the tomato. And the diamond that looks like an orange. And also her hair. The orange is going all the way out here. This is the fire that’s on the bottom of the stew, since fire needs to be on the bottom of the stew to make it nice and yummy. I love that Oge Mora is an artist. And I’m artist, too! I’m a collage artist right now.

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Na'eel: It was loud. It was loud in the park. Ava was mad. Ava’s mom. I made Ava’s arm and his leg and his arm. That’s the violin. I made the lines - straight lines, even I made the lines and the ball. That’s how guitars be. I covered the hole with the strings. I just made his hand behind the guitar. I love that the girl is painting. I really love paint. I love Oge Mora’s pictures.

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Emmy: They were staying in a home for a while, and that was good. I think they were going on a trip. Ava and her mother. Then they still had to go on a trip, then “whoosh” their hair was wet, then they dried their hair. Then the puppet show - in this picture, they wanted to go to the puppet show, but the tickets weren’t in there. I can’t see the lady in the other picture, but it’s okay. I loved doing something new with them. And I made the coffee, then it was good! And the sleeve - and this kid was bigger, and this was bigger too. But this was the small one. But I couldn’t make it big like Ava in this picture. Oge Mora makes a story - she’s the illustrator and the author. I don’t have Thank You Omu at home, but just Saturday, but that’s fine. It was good, and it started to be good. They were almost there to the puppet show, but they went on too much trips!

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Display of student work inside the Library. 

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Each of us chose an illustration or another work by Oge Mora to inspire our collage making. Then, we started to make! Each friend chose one of the remaining whole pieces of collage paper to serve as their background.

As we made, friends thought about what shapes and colors they needed to show what was happening in their collage, and used scissors to further cut/shape a piece they found as they needed.

I also heard students talking with one another about what they were making and thinking through what was going on in their collages:

Emerson: “I want her to have a skirt. She’s not in her crib - she’s standing up. She’s big. She’s like a lady. She wants her mama.”

Mecca: “She’s sleeping. Ooh, when she wakes up, I think she’s feeling happy that her mom bought that toy for her. That’s her leg - she’s standing up. And she growed up.”

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Elliot shows Henry and Winston how to cut a circle

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Once our color spectrum was finished, we broke into small groups to begin cutting it into many different shapes as we prepared to make our collages. Friends thought about the different shapes they were cutting and what they reminded them of.

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As we prepared to make many shades of brown, we looked at this page from The Oldest Student to name what colors we could see. I invited the students to look closely at the characters in the book and notice the many shades of brown Oge Mora used to show everyone’s skin tones. We then tried to make the same spectrum of browns on our paper.

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After we spent time looking closely at Oge Mora’s books, paying attention to how she uses colors and shapes to illustrate what is happening, we started preparing paper in many colors for our own collage-making process.

As we worked on each color group, we blended together multiple colors to create a gradient of many different shades within each color.

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We looked at photos of Oge Mora, read her biography from her website, and watched videos of her speaking about her books to learn more about her. Children shared wonderings they still had about her as we learned.

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When reading Nelson’s biography, it was discovered that he created the official portrait of Shirley Chisholm in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Students learned about Chisholm through the D.C. 3-Star picture book, Shirley Chisholm is a Verb!

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An example of Nelson’s books with common themes.

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“The things we do change things for other people” - Mecca, PK3

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“Her name is Isabella.  She likes to watch Encanto and she likes butterflies.  She likes flowers.  Isabella likes sparkles.  She’s sitting down to watch Encanto.  These are crystals that she found in a cave.  She lives in Antigua.  She wants to find her friends.  She wants to play with them.  She’s sitting in a park.”

Miona, 5

Mixed Media

3.29.2022

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We looked closely at both Thank You, Omu! and Saturday, talked about and drew what we saw on each page & what we thought was happening. We also did See, Think, Wonder routines around other works of Oge Mora's to further connect to her works and her style.

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Our finished collages - inspired by the works of Oge Mora

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For our exploration of Black Joy, our class learned about and explored the works of artist, author, and illustrator Oge Mora. We took the time to look closely at three of her stories (and three class favorites) in Thank You, Omu!, Saturday, and Everybody in the Red Brick Building, as well as other works of art we found on her website.

As we engaged in this project, children thought about what an artist, author, and illustrator does, how they tell stories, and how to work in the medium of collage by looking deeply at Oge Mora's works.

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A common award found on Kadir Nelson’s books is the Coretta Scott King Award. After learning about this award and reading many Coretta Scott King award winning books, students shared why Nelson’s books have this honor:

“Kadir Nelson’s books should get the Coretta Scott King

Award because they are all about Black History.”

- August, 1

“Kadir Nelson’s books deserve a Coretta Scott King

award because they spread very good messages.”

- Thandi, 1

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“Her name is Julia because I like the word.  She lives in Chicago.  She likes to go on the benches.  She sits and watches baseball.  She lives in a house and she has 10 babies.  She’s a person and she loves to snuggle.  They are fish because I love fish.  She likes to go swimming with the fish.  She likes sparkles.”

Zeddy, 4

Mixed Media

3.30.2022

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Over the month, our youngest students made connections between the topics and pictures in Nelson’s work, and our upper-grade students tried their hand at illustrating. You are looking at student-illustrated historical figures from Kadir Nelson’s books or one of the many “un-” words from The Undefeated interpreted by students.

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“Chantel Walkes.  I like Chantel Walkes when she made her collage.  I made my person Chantel Walkes because I made a collage because I have a lot of fun making collage.  She’s going to work.  She works at a house and at a building.  I drawed a magic door that takes you to Hot Wheels Land and I have letters.  That’s the drill for the ground.  The glitter is for the plane and that’s where Chantel Walkes is on it.  She’s going to America.  She’s going to a new house.  She wants a blue house and then she found a blue house and then she goed in the blue house then she likes the blue house.”

Bishop, 4

Mixed Media

3.23.2022

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“This is Feeva.  This is Phaeda.  Phaeda can fashion.  Fashion means you can dress up and fashion.  Well, they are cousins.  They can come home.  They like to play with their kids and their cousins and their uncles and they go to see their mommy and daddy.  They wear glitter.  They like family.  They like when all their family are together.  They are at Canada.  They live with their family.”

Jordyn, 4

Mixed Media

3.29.2022

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After reading Lisa M. Bolt Simons and Michael Byers biography on Kadir Nelson, 3rd-grade students shared a fact they learned or that surprised them about the artist.

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- “He is an author AND an illustrator.” - Collins, 1
- “He’s an illustrator. He’s written and illustrated a lot of books about African Americans.” - Aarav, 3
- “I know that he made the book I Have a Dream.” - Isabella, 3
- “I want to learn how he illustrates. We can watch videos of him.” - Thulani, 3
- “He got an award for African American authors.” - Jayden H., 4

- “He is an author that won several Coretta Scott King book awards. He also writes about Black History.” - Sophie P., 4

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Before reading Nelson’s books, students shared what they already knew about him, what they wanted to know about him, and how they could learn more. Then all students were introduced to his life and career by reading a biography about him. Students shared:

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“Her name is Zeddy.  She likes watching TV.  She likes watching Encanto.  Those are all the things she likes: snakes, playing games like card games, mountains, golden rocks and silver rocks, eyeglasses, her toys and she likes cars.  She’s in America and she’s playing with her toys.  This is one of her toys and it’s a remote control toy.  This is a cactus.  That’s another cactus.  She likes cactuses because cactuses are her favorite plant because of their color, she likes green.”

Dahmi’Yus, 4

Mixed Media

3.25.2022

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“Her name is Katie.  Katie likes to spin around.  She likes to play tag.  I added lips to my collage.  She likes to play with her kids.  She has 6 kids.  They like to play with each other.  They play on the playground.  Her and her kids like to go on a walk.  She lives in Mexico.  Those are Ls and Ms because those are in my name.  So she’s out on a walk.  The gems are there to make it pretty.”

Liam, 4

Mixed Media

3.29.2022

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“Her name is Julia Sophia.  She put golden eye shadow on and she draws her shirt pink.  She likes to run around and play in the grass and she has a playground and she can go up the ladder and play tag and hide and seek and go on the slide.  Chantel Walkes is going to be happy and this is for her and I’m supposed to give it to her and I drew her whole outfit and she likes to put skirts on.  And I also made the blue sky because it’s outside.  And this yellow thing up here is the sun.  Last thing these are some butterflies and she blows them for real and when the butterflies get gray they’re sad and she helps them get back to pink—from the wings.  She likes to put bracelets and necklaces on and likes to grow flowers.  She likes to put earrings on and buttons on her shirt.  And she likes to feed the birds and raccoons and bees.”

-Gigi, 4

Mixed media

2.28.22

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Students noticed:

“He’s won a lot of awards. Some books have three awards.”

- Olivia, K

“Almost every book has won a book award”

- Andrew, 1

“A lot of these books have the same symbol as “I Have a Dream.” Special awards. They really mean something.”

- Massimo, K

“Almost all are by Kadir Nelson”

- Tao, 2

“I like the strong man on the front. Lots of strong people in the book.”

- Garrett, PK3

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Inspired by the school-wide study of the book I Have a Dream in January, students in the library explored the art of author & illustrator, Kadir Nelson.

Displayed throughout the library, students began to notice the covers on many of Nelson’s books. Something that stood out was the book award stickers on the front covers and common characters + themes.

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“This is Neva and this is Nixon.  They are also going to get their nails done and get their hairs done and get dressed and going to the mall.  And they’re going home.  They are also about to go to bed and when they wake up they’re going to the pool.  They also painted lipstick on and nail polish.  They like cookies and doughnuts and cupcakes and juice.”

Jacey, 4

Mixed Media

3.14.2022

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Chantel Walkes collages were something I stumbled upon when looking for inspiration on Instagram (@chantelwalkes).  Her collages of Black women instantly inspired me.  I even created one of my own.  At the time the children and I were exploring the childhoods, lives and families of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Coretta Scott King, Yolanda Renee King (Dr. King’s only grand daughter) and Malcolm X.  They became especially excited when we read stories about them written by contemporary Black women like Christine Platt (DC local) and Ilyasah Shabazz (Malcolm X’s daughter).  I thought continuing the joy and focus on Black women was important and collage inspired by Chantel Walkes felt like the perfect medium to explore.  Not only would we be helping close the gap of art that highlights Black women but they’d also be working on essential PreK skills: using scissors, planning, gluing, fine motor, developing ideas, creating with intention, verbally explaining their ideas and choices and so many more.  Though their work speaks for itself their stories are equally as captivating.  Some questions I’m carrying with me and would love your help answering: what do you see children learning or thinking more deeply about?  How has the emphasis on Black women changed the way these children encounter the world?  How might adults learn from the work of these young children?

-Krista

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“Walkes' tone shifted as she described feeling underrepresented in galleries. "I didn't see a lot of art that was elevating Black women in particular," she recalls. Mirroring the active tense of her work, by placing Black women as the focal point in each of her pieces she's following in the tradition of Black female artists proactively creating the representation that they wished to see. With each image, she's immortalizing Black facial features, beauty innovations, and hair, striking the perfect balance between depth and levity. "I didn't want trauma to be the focus," she said. "I wanted the focus to be joy, confidence, and resilience."

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“For Black women, representation often involves an asterisk. Like when Solange's braids were edited out of a 2017 magazine cover. Or when a beauty brand's complexion products still fail to acknowledge deeper hues. The prevalence of stories like these makes artists centering Black women in their work radical and vital. As Mutu put it, creating from and for Black women's perspectives is simultaneously "questioning and resolving the issue of our invisibility."

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“I chose to illustrate Reece Whitly because I am learning to swim and I LOVE IT!!! I designed it this way because I thought it would show how he is a swimmer. W

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"The Undefeated" - February IDEA Book-of-the-Month (website linked)

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"The Undefeated" - February IDEA Book-of-the-Month (website linked)

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"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat, so that we can know who we are. So that we can see, oh, that happened, and I rose. I did get knocked down flat in front of the whole world, and I rose"

Make reading a family affair by reading and talking about the book together as a family. Re-read or ask an older child to re-read to a younger child.

Here are some terms to help talk about, and explain book themes, with your little ones:

There is no doubt that bouncing back, or coming back stronger, from difficulties is a good trait for anyone to have. But resilience is not the absence of distress. We can talk about perseverance and resilience in a way that centers humanity and our connectedness. While we can honor the resilience of African Americans, who have uplifted the entire nation in a quest for liberation, we must also work to dismantle systems that cause some groups to face additional burdens.

Our goal is to talk about resilience in a way, not meant to wash away how bad things are and have been, but to think about the story of joy that can be told in survival.

Books are a great way for grown-ups to open the door to meaningful conversations about big topics with our little ones. Below are some questions to open dialogue and deepen understanding about the themes in The Undefeated.

1. Why do you think this book is called The Undefeated? What does it mean to be undefeated?

2. Have you ever felt defeated? What did you do to move forward and rise?

3. Which person featured in the book do you find most inspiring? Why?

4. In the afterword, author Kwame Alexander says "to truly know who we are as a country, we have to accept and embrace all of our woes and wonders." What does this mean? How does this book help us do that?

The Undefeated is a love letter to Black America and to the passion and perserverance of some of the world's greatest artists, athletes, and activists. You may have heard of some of them or some may be new names to you. Below, we've included some of the people who were referenced, pictured, or named, and some ways to learn more about them.

One link could never do their lives or contributions justice. We also encourage you to explore some of the many rich resources available in DC to engage further. We are including a printable "scavenger hunt". Can you find these names in museums and libraries?

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"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat, so that we can know who we are. So that we can see, oh, that happened, and I rose.

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Kindergarten students notice Chisholm’s portrait in Nelson’s biography (above). 

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“I thought it was a photograph because of how talented Kadir Nelson is at painting.” - Sora, K

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Crown Act Inspired Student Work: Drawing Textured Hair Practice

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Crown Act Inspired Student Work: Drawing Textured Hair Practice

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Crown Act Inspired Student Work: Braiding Practice

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Crown Act Inspired Student Work: Braiding Practice

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In November, 4th grade artists explored identity through cars, Low Riders.  After discussions around why Latin X/Latino communities and African American/Black communities expressed themselves through cars and music, the children began to question why? Deep topics came up like police brutality and racial discrimination(a student shared how her mother was followed through a store). The children and I began to think about our own identities, acceptance of others, and how to create positive ideals around our differences.

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Final Project: Hair Inspired Mixed Media Sculptures

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Final Project: Hair Inspired Mixed Media Sculptures

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Final Projects: Hair Inspired Blind Contours

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Final Projects: Hair Inspired Blind Contours

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I'll update with my reflection

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Our Journey through Hair Love & Hair Discrimination 

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Our Journey through Hair Love & Hair Discrimination 