(cheerful piano music
♪ You are the best you the world will see ♪
♪ Come along now and share you with me ♪
♪ Let's learn something new and share feelings too ♪
♪ 'Cause these are the things to do to be the best you ♪
(cheerful piano music)
(magical chime)
- Hello, Possum, and hello, friends.
- Hi, Auntie Lena.
- How was your day at school?
- Oh, it was great.
Guess who our teacher talked about today?
- Who, Possum?
- Dr. King.
- Oh, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
- Um hm.
Well, remember when we read
"Dr. King Had a Dream" with our friends?
- I sure do.
Did you learn anything new about him?
- Well, I learned more about his dream
and how he was a brave leader,
but I also learned how mean people were to him,
and it made me feel sad.
- It makes me sad too, Possum.
- Why would people be so mean?
- A lot of White people didn't like Dr. King
simply because of his race or the color of his skin.
They believed their race was better
and didn't think that Black people should be treated fairly.
- But that's like someone thinking
you shouldn't be treated fairly.
- Yes, it's called racism.
- Oh.
Well, I'm glad that racism is over.
- Unfortunately, Possum, that isn't true.
- What?
It's not?
- No.
Even though we've come a long way since Dr. King was alive,
Black people still experience racism every day
and aren't treated fairly in a lot of ways.
- Then are people mean to you
because of your skin color, Auntie Lena?
- Yes, sometimes.
It can be very hurtful
and make me feel bad about myself.
But then I remember
all the beautiful things about my history and my culture
like Dr. King's dream, and I'm proud to be Black.
- Oh, that reminds me of a book I saw at the library.
I think it was called "The Proudest Color."
- Yes.
- By Sheila Modir and Jeff Kashou.
I love that story.
Would you like to read it now with our friends?
- Yes.
- Okay then.
Let's go to Tukwila Library and listen.
- Hello friends. - Hello friends.
We're at the Tukwila Library
and my name is Miss Debra
and this is my friend.
- EriBella.
- And today we have a story to share with you.
The title of this story is
"The Proudest Color." - "The Proudest Color."
And the authors are Sheila Modir and Jeff Kashou.
The illustrator is Monica Mikai.
I am like a box of crayons, bright and colorful.
I see and feel in color.
When I am-
- [EriBella] Happy.
- [Debra] I feel a rush of razzle dazzle pink in my hands.
When I am-
- [EriBella] Mad.
- [Debra] I feel sparks
of bright red spread across my cheeks.
When I am-
- [EriBella] Sad.
- [Debra] I feel a deep blue in my eyes.
And when I'm nervous, I feel a vivid purple in my stomach.
When I am proud, I feel a beautiful brown in my heart,
but for me, brown is more than feeling proud.
It's a color I see when I see me.
It's a color that people see when I come
into a room or when I get on the-
- [EriBella] The bus.
- [Debra] Or go to the store.
It's a color on my arms, my toes, and my face.
The night before my first day of school
my mom tucks me into bed and kisses my forehead.
She says, "Zahra, you felt many different colors today
but your beautiful brown skin is here to stay.
All those feelings come and go
but your brown skin glows and glows."
She says that throughout the book.
Let's read that part together.
Your brown skin
glows and glows. - Glows and glows.
- I press my arm against my mom's
and I like seeing the differences
and similarities in our shades of brown.
On my first day of school, I feel razzle dazzle pink-
- [EriBella] Happy.
- [Debra] And vivid purple-
- [EriBella] Nervous.
- [Debra] When my mom drops me off.
Why do you think she's nervous?
- Because none of the other kids
have the same skin color as her.
- You're right.
It says but the people here are not like my box of crayons.
They might have colorful feelings inside
but I'm the only one who is brown on the outside.
Do they look happy to see her?
- They don't really notice her.
- They don't notice her, do they?
I stare at my brown arms and remember my mom's words.
Let's read it together.
My brown skin - [EriBella] My Brown skin
glows and glows. - [Debra] Glows and glows.
Ooh, I feel a rush of brown pride in my chest
and march into my classroom radiating sunshine yellow-
- [EriBella] Confident.
- [Debra] Ooh, doesn't she look proud?
- [EriBella] Yep.
- [Debra] At recess, my classmate Zoey presses her arm
against mine, wrinkles her nose and says,
"You're so dark, I don't like brown."
Everyone laughs.
I stare at our arms and feel many colors swirl inside me.
Do you see the color she feels now?
What color?
- Red. - Which means?
- Anger. - Oh, I feel bright red anger
in my cheeks and deep blue sadness in my eyes
but I don't feel brown pride inside my chest.
In that moment, I wish I wasn't brown on the outside.
How can you tell that she's feeling really sad?
How can you tell?
- Because her face expression
- Her expression is so sad.
She feels alone I think.
- Yeah. - At dinner I tell
my parents what happened at school.
My mom and papa tell me that there are people
who can be mean when they see my beautiful brown skin
because it is different from their skin.
But we want you to remember all the people
who share your brown skin
and all the important things they have done in this world.
Brown is the color
of your abuela who loves to hug and kiss you.
Do you know what an abuela is?
- A grandma?
- Yes, it is in Spanish.
It is the color
of your old school principal who high fived
the students as he walked down the hallway.
It is the color
of your doctor who helps you feel better when you're sick.
It is the color of, do you know who this is?
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Who helped inspire America with his dreams of equality.
It is the color of Malala Yousafzai who bravely stands
up for all girls to be able to go to school.
She was very important and she even won a peace prize.
She was the youngest person to ever win a peace prize
for what she did.
It is a color a Cesar Chavez, who helped workers have safe
and fair places to work.
Do you see his picture that she drew?
- [EriBella] Right here?
- [Debra] Yes.
It's a color of former president, who's that?
- [EriBella] Barack Obama?
- Who helped keep our country safe and strong.
It's a color of Kamala Harris
who is the first woman to become vice president
of our country and said that she wouldn't be the last.
So you can be vice president too, huh?
Or president.
- Yep. - It's the color
of Frida Kahlo who boldly painted her culture
and brought attention to female artists like you.
All these people have beautiful brown skin like yours.
As they tell me
about each of these brown and beautiful people
I feel a rush of, say this with me.
Razzle-dazzle pink. - [EriBella] Razzle-dazzle
pink spread in my hands. - Pink spread in my hands.
Even though I might be the only kid with brown skin
in school, I am part of a very special box of crayons.
This box is full of amazing people from all around the world
and all throughout history who are
brown like me. - [EriBella] Brown like me.
- [Debra] No matter what Zoey says, my brown skin is-
- [EriBella] Important.
- [Debra] And it's a color that makes a big-
- [EriBella] Difference- - [Debra] In the world.
It's a color that I am and I will make a
- [EriBella] Difference- - Difference in the world.
Let's read that together.
- [Together] I see brown all over
over my skin.
I feel brown fill my heart.
I feel proud.
Wow, this was a good teaching book, wasn't it?
And my favorite part was learning about all those people
because I think that any Brown child
or any child that hears this will learn a lot
from this book.
- And be proud. - And be proud, yes.
Thank you, this was fun.
- Yeah. - Yes, okay.
- [Together] Thank you for listening.
Bye, friends.
(magical chime)
- Auntie Lena, I kind of understand how Zahra felt
on her first day of school.
- How so, Possum?
- I was the only possum in my class,
just like Zahra was the only kid
with brown skin in her school.
But no one's ever been mean to me
for being a possum like Zoey was to Zahra.
- Yes, what Zoey said is an example of racism.
See, Possum, it can still happen even today.
- I'm glad that Zahra's mom knew how
to help her feel better.
- Me too.
Do you remember some
of the people she mentioned in the story?
- I know she talked about Dr. King.
- That's right.
And Cesar Chavez, Vice President Kamala Harris,
and Zahra's doctor, Dr. Sharif.
- Oh, and Zahra's abuela.
- Yes.
They are all leaders who embrace their skin color
and make a difference in the world.
- No wonder you and Zahra are proud to be Brown.
- Yes.
There is so much to be proud of and celebrate.
- Hmm.
Well, we should celebrate with our friends, Auntie Lena.
- That's a great idea.
After reading that story
I think we need a little celebration.
Let's see what Miss Sheree is up
to at Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands.
- Hi friends. - Hi friends.
I'm Miss Sheree. - And I'm Leila.
- Hi, Leila.
Where are we today?
- We are at the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands.
- Today we are here to talk
about racism and how racism hurts us as a people.
We're talked about our skin a lot and put down.
I'm wondering, have you experienced that?
- Yeah, I have.
- [Miss Sheree] How's that feel?
- It doesn't feel good.
- [Miss Sheree] It doesn't feel good at all.
And we are all beautiful people.
Guess what, I brought a couple
of instruments from Africa today.
Have you seen something that looks like this?
- No.
- Oh, this is called mbira.
Can you all say mbira?
- Mbira.
- Excellent.
So this instrument is found all over Africa.
It's also found in South America
and it's also found in the United States.
And it sounds like this.
(plucky string music)
What do you think?
- I like it.
- Yeah, look at that.
Can you believe there's 15 keys in here
and I only have two thumbs?
I think you can do this.
Can you try?
(plucky string music)
(music continues)
Wow, you sound good.
That sounded like a song.
Did you know that song already?
- No. - Oh, wow.
I'm impressed.
Guess what, I brought another instrument.
Have you seen this before?
- Yeah.
- What do you think it is?
- Uh, a xylophone.
- A xylophone.
There's another name for xylophone.
Do you know what that is?
- No.
- [Miss Sheree] Marimba.
- Marimba.
So I brought a little marimba,
which is kind of a sample marimba
of what the marimbas look like all over the world,
and they're all over Africa.
They're in South America,
and now they're played all over the United States.
Would you like to hear what it sounds like?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
It it has a scale that goes,
this is the lowest note.
(light marimba music)
So the longest key is the lowest note
and the shortest key is the highest note.
Yeah.
So I want you to play a song with me.
Okay, so I'm gonna show you.
I want you to play these two red dots here.
I want you to play them one time.
Then I want you to move this hand right next door
and play this together.
And then I want you to move back and play these together.
So it should sound like this.
(light marimba music)
Wow.
Now can you do that three times times
so we can play that together?
Ready?
One, two, three, go.
(light marimba music)
Ah, so we're gonna put a little rhythm at the end of this.
Can you go
one, two, three, four, five?
(light marimba music)
Oh, you're good.
So we wanna go one, one, one.
One, one, one.
One, two, three, four, five.
- Okay. - You ready?
One, two, three, go.
(light marimba music)
Uh huh.
(light marimba music)
Uh huh.
(light marimba music)
Uh huh.
(light marimba music)
Wow, you got that rhythm really good.
Man!
You know that is part of a song,
and that song is called "Mananga".
- Can you say "Mananga"?
- "Mananga".
- Mananga means sweet pumpkins.
Oh, look at you playing this sweet pumpkin song, "Mananga".
Wow, I'm impressed.
So we learned about the marimba today and we learned
about mbira today and we talked about how
we must love ourselves.
Isn't that right?
- Mmhmm.
- And that we are beautiful people.
Isn't that right?
- Yeah. - So let us end
with our love each other song and the words go.
"I love myself so much so that I can love you so much
so that you can love you so much
so you can start loving me."
You think we can sing that together?
- Yeah
- [Miss Sheree] I think that would be great.
Are you ready?
- Yes. - One, two, three.
- [Singing together] ♪ I love myself so much ♪
♪ So I can love you so much ♪
♪ So you can love you so much ♪
♪ So you can start loving me ♪
♪ I love myself so much ♪
♪ So I can love you so much ♪
♪ So you can love you so much ♪
♪ And you can start loving me ♪
- Did you like that song?
- Yeah. - I did too.
- And thank you for teaching me the music and the song.
- Oh, thank you.
I certainly enjoyed sharing this time with you.
- I did too.
- Yeah.
So we'll see you next time friends.
- Bye - Bye.
(upbeat music)
- [Possum] It's time for Movement Minute.
(Possum bouncing)
- Hello friends.
Welcome to Movement Minute.
I am Coach Mayra
and we are here at Rainier Health and Fitness.
And today we're gonna learn how to do bear crawls.
For the bear crawl,
we're gonna start with our hands
down on the ground and then our knees bent.
And we're gonna try to keep our knees as close
as we can to the ground.
For an easier version,
we can bring our legs up and keep them straight as we move
just like a bear all the way around.
Nice work guys.
Thank you for joining me.
See you next time.
(magical chime)
- Possum, I have to say that spending time
with you and our friends makes me feel so happy
and razzle-dazzle pink.
- Just like Zahra.
- That's right.
And what colors describe how you feel, Possum?
- Well, I feel yellow and happy like you
but I also still feel a little blue
that people would be mean to you and Zahra.
- Yes, and it's okay to feel both.
Racism is not going away anytime soon,
but brown skin will continue to glow
and glow with the help of friends like you.
- Like me?
Well, how can I help?
- First by using your voice when you see someone
is being treated unfairly.
And second, by continuing to celebrate Black
and Brown people like we are today.
It shows the world that we deserve love, joy
and respect just like everybody else.
- And that you're proud to be brown.
- Exactly.
Speaking of all these colors,
we should make some art with Mr. James.
- That sounds fun, Auntie Lena.
Maybe he'll tell us his proudest color.
- Let's go to the Wing Luke Museum and find out.
(magical chime)
- Hi friends.
I'm Mr. James here at the Wing Luke Museum.
A beautiful museum.
I'm so happy to be here.
I am your parent's producer
of their favorite music festival, Bumbershoot,
and Bumbershoot celebrates diversity and everyone
in the community coming together
to celebrate visual arts, music, performance and community.
And speaking of community, how often do you look
in the mirror and say, "I love myself."
There's so many different people in the community,
but you, you are an individual.
Even if you're an identical twin, you are special.
So what I want you to do first is look
in the mirror and say, "I love myself."
Say it.
I love myself too.
In fact, I love myself so much
I'm gonna write a poem about it.
So please get a pen or markers and crayons and some paper.
And we're gonna write an I Am poem.
Okay.
So an I Am poem is a poem where all you
have to do is really just say I am.
It could rhyme, it could have a certain rhythm,
it could be alliterative, meaning
that it starts with the same letter each time
or it could just be all over the place.
So I'm gonna write my poem about something I'm proud of.
And let's see, I'm proud of music.
I'm an artist.
I'm proud of my family.
I'm proud of my skin and my hair.
The way I look.
There's so many things I'm proud of.
What do I put on paper?
Let's just go, let's figure this out.
I'm gonna grab purple, which is my father's favorite color.
Purple.
And it's called "I am Mr. James."
That's easy.
Hmm, what else am I proud of?
Oh, I am.
I'm a dad so I'm gonna draw a dad
and this dad is gonna wear hot pink
'cause that was Frank Sinatra's favorite color
and that's also my favorite color.
Ask your parents who Frank Sinatra is.
So I'm a do a dad in pink.
I'm not a great visual artist but I enjoy drawing, so...
Eye, eye, smile, afro.
That's me.
I am a dad.
What else I am?
I am, oh, many years I performed on TV and film.
I am an actor in my drama face.
This one's happy.
And this one is sad.
I am an actor.
Hmm.
You know, there's something I'm really proud
of and that's going back generations and generations.
I'm Mr. James, my father's Mr. James,
his father was Will, his father was Mr. Will,
his father was Mr. James and his father was Mr. James.
So I'm very proud
of my lineage of James and Will in my life.
So I am proud.
P-R-O-U-D.
You could probably guess.
I'm also proud to look like me, to be the skin I live in.
I am Black.
Black, like midnight. Black, like Martin Luther King Jr.
Black, like the Black Panther.
I am also a teacher.
Hmm, what does a teacher use?
I know, blue.
I am...
Teachers use, how about a blackboard and some chalk
and then write I am cool.
All right, let's think of one more thing that I should
be proud of and maybe you're proud of.
How about I'm a human.
I am.
You know what heart?
I am heart that shows my humanity.
What does your poem say?
I would love to know.
Well, I'll read my poem to you.
I'm Mr. James.
I am a dad.
I am an actor.
I am proud.
I am Black.
I'm a teacher and I am human.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
Once again, I'm Mr. James here in the Wing Luke.
I hope you have a lovely, lovely day.
Take care.
(magical chime)
- Auntie Lena, when I go to school tomorrow,
I'm gonna tell my class about
another important Black leader
we should celebrate like Dr. King.
- Oh, who's that, Possum?
- Well, you!
- Me?
- Yeah, because you always teach me new things
and help me feel better.
- Well, thank you, Possum.
I'm grateful to have such a kind and caring friend like you.
I know that you'll continue to help people
with black and brown skin like me glow and glow.
- Oh, thank you, Auntie Lena.
- You are welcome, Possum.
And friends, thank you for taking the time to look,
listen and learn with us today.
And remember, you are the best you
that the world will ever see.
- Bye for now.
- Bye-bye.
(light music)
Please stay tuned after the credits
for Auntie Lena's parent tip.
- [Narrator] Brought to you by Public Health.
Protect yourself and your family from serious illness
by staying up to date on your COVID boosters.
Resources and information at kingcounty.gov/vaccine.
- Black, Brown and Proud.
Today's episode is all
about affirming that Black and Brown is beautiful.
It also tackles how to talk
to your little learners about racism.
For Black and Brown families,
the topic of racism isn't new
but it's a sensitive subject that can bring
up many difficult feelings for both you and your child.
So where do you begin?
It's important for all families to name racism
so that children can learn to notice
and stand up for one another
and for those who are being treated unfairly.
However, it's equally important to pause
and take time to celebrate.
Talk about Black and Brown people who've inspired you
and made a difference in your life.
Find moments to share the parts
of your culture that fill you with radical joy
and make you feel razzle-dazzle pink.
By showing Black and Brown children all the reasons
to feel proud of their skin and the people
who share it with them,
you help build their confidence and resilience
for the inevitable times when they experience racism.
So keep the conversation going
and make sure to take care of yourself too.
Always remember that you are the best you
and the best color that the world will ever see.