Introducing the Black Heroes Coloring Series
These simple coloring sheets are our way of highlighting some amazing black lives and bringing them into your home and conversation.
I spent much of last week in listening and processing mode and also just crying a whole lot.
I marched for Black Lives Matter and learned that many of the local protests here have been organized by high school students. And at protests all over the world, I saw people of every color, ethnicity, and age who show no signs of giving up.
I joined a Zoom call held so generously by 3 black moms who shared their stories to dozens of non-black moms. We all cried for the pain that they had experienced and then tried to answer questions of how we can move forward in solidarity.
We enjoyed takeout twice (seriously, this never happens) from 2 black-owned restaurants on this Google spreadsheet of Bay Area black-owned restaurants. It actually got so much traffic that the creator had to make a duplicate copy so more people could access it. Your city might have a list too — just check here.
I realized that I didn’t own 1 cookbook by a black chef and in trying to rectify that, I discovered that so many of these cookbooks are now sold out, which feels revolutionary in its own small way (I just hope that they actually get cooked from because we all know the fate of so many cookbooks … ).
I did manage to order a copy of Vegetable Kingdom by Bryant Terry and the food history book High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America. As an American and African History major plus food enthusiast, this book should be right up my alley.
I donated. I wrote to elected officials. And while I know all of these are small steps and the road to true racial equality will require much more sweat and tears, help can come in so many forms and in so many stages. I have been thinking long and hard about how Cook Smarts can affect change, and I don’t have all the answers yet but the stories of help this last week have given me a lot of hope and energy for the work ahead.
For now we’ll start with something we’ve done in the past — some simple coloring sheets. We’re starting with 3 heroes all of us should know more about: Edna Lewis, Ruby Bridges, and Rosa Parks. If you’re a parent, have a coloring session at dinner and use these as conversation starters with your kids.
I hope your heart and mind found a bit of peace this week.
Always your kitchen cheerleader,
Jess
