Black is the love that lives inside of me.' Angela declares this and much more with text that speaks joy, determination, and pride, making references throughout to artists, activists, and change-makers in history as brought to life through Ekua Holmes's illustrations. I am grateful for this book because 'Black is history. For those students who comment on my brown skin in contrast to theirs and as Angela Joy says it, 'For children who ask difficult questions, and adults who brave the unknown for answers.' It's for those who will read this book and see the beauty of their blackness, represented in all shades, the brilliance of a culture as it sings out through the pages.

This is why a book like Black is a Rainbow Color is important. When I first started working in my school district, I sensed this same hesitancy around the word black in some of my students and I think it was because they were not sure if using that word would be offensive to me. Whether it be in reference to our family specifically or simply when using the term to describe the color of an object. But when I think back to that first night he spent at our house years ago, I remember him being uncertain about using the word black around us. I just knew that his family felt like my family. I enjoyed getting to know his family and I was thrilled when they were able to come out to spend Thanksgiving with us one year. He and my daughter were the best of friends.

Visiting museums, hanging out at the town pool, going to the library and amusement parks. We built some of our most lasting memories during that time. For about four summers in a row, our family hosted a little boy through The Fresh Air Fund who would travel from NYC to spend some time with us in Buffalo.

Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy