- Cassie G.
- Thursday, June 23, 2022
Black is a rhythm, Black is the blues.
Black is soft-singing, "Hush now, don't explain."
Black are the birds in cages that sing
Black is a color.
Black is a culture.
Black is a rainbow, too.
Black Is a Rainbow Color is written by Angela Joy and beautifully illustrated by Ekua Holmes. This picture book allows for us to walk along side a young black girl as she discovers what the color black means to her. While reading Black is a Rainbow Color we get to see how the color black can be found anywhere and everywhere. We see it in a crayon box, we see it in hair, it's referred to as Rhythm and Blues, it represents a culture as well as history.
The end of the book gives us a Black Is a Rainbow Color Playlist, a brief history lesson of Black Ethnonyms (a name used to refer to an ethnic group, tribe, or people) in America as well as a break down of some of the quotes from the book, and Poems. This book, cover to cover is just a perfect reminder on exactly how beautiful the color black can be. Me personally, its my favorite color.
This book took me on a different journey while reading it. It allowed me to realize that the actual color Black itself is great but when it is applied to us as people, we give it it's own definition of a rainbow. Our melanin comes in so many shades of brown that regardless of how we see ourselves, we are still referred to as Black. Black Is a Rainbow Color is the picture book I would use to reassure my amazing Black children that although the color that is often used to reference us as people is not included as one of the seven colors that make up the rainbow, it doesn't mean that it isn't just as beautiful.
#OwnVoices at Richland Library is a way for African American staff to provide thoughtful and well written book reviews, book lists and blog posts to promote African American authors and their work about the African American experience. The series invites our customers to learn one more way we are continuing the conversation in our community and speaking our voice. Find more resources on race, equity and inclusion, here.