Each family is unique! Celebrate the diversity of skin colors in your family and explore the scientific reason for different skin colors with this family portrait.

Before

Collect the materials that you will need (paper, brushes, paints to mix different skin colors).

Explain that there are many different skin colors because we all have something called melanin in our skin. People who have more melanin have darker skin, and people who have less melanin have lighter skin.  You might ask, “How much melanin do you think you have?”

Explain that we all need melanin because helps protect our skin from the sun. If you have more melanin, you have more protection from the sun’s hot rays. If you have less melanin, you have less protection and might get a sun burn more easily.

• Ask: “Did you know that how much melanin we get comes from our family members? Who in our family has a similar skin color to you? What is similar? How are our skin colors different?” This is an opportunity to introduce some more nuance to how we describe skin tone.

During

As you draw each member of your family, ask your child to think through what colors to mix together in order to make each family member’s skin color.

You might also talk about other physical similarities/differences between family members (for example, you might point out how you and your child have similar hair textures, but their younger sibling has another hair texture).

After

• Ask your child, “What did you learn about skin color today?”
• Have your child show their family portrait to another family member and explain what they learned about skin color today.

Many people have stood up against inequality, and we can learn from their examples. These coloring sheets introduce children to agents of change through fun facts and images.

Before

Ask your child to color with you. Explain that all of the people in the coloring sheets are Upstanders.

• Ask: “Do you know what an upstander is?” Then, define upstander as someone who uses their words and actions to help themselves and their friends when something is unfair.
• Ask “Is there something that you know of in the world that’s unfair?”
• Say: Let’s learn more about each of these upstanders as we color.”

During

Color the sheets and share the facts and questions on the sheets with your child as you color.

• Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman confirmed to the Supreme Court
• Felicitas Méndez
  • Felicitas Méndez was a Puerto Rican civil rights activist. For most of her life, she lived with her husband and children in Orange County, California. In 1944, their local school district refused to enroll the Mendez’s three children based on their ethnicity. Felicitas Méndez refused to accept this decision. She, along with four other parents, sued the school district and organized committees that pushed to end segregation for Hispanic children. Two years later, the court ruled in her favor and concluded that the school district had violated the Mexican-American citizens right to equal protection. This decision paved the road for laws to be passed to integrate all California’s schools and seven years later for the Supreme Court to rule that segregation was unconstitutional. We remember her as being brave, outspoken, and determined as she fought for her children’s rights and the rights of many others.
• Shirley Chisolm
  • Shirley Chishom, or “fighting Shirley” as she was called in Congress, was the first Black woman from a major political party to run for president. Her career began as a teacher after graduating from Columbia University. In 1968, the same year that MLK was assassinated, she became the first black woman elected to Congress. In her 14 years in congress, she helped found the Congressional Black Caucus and advocated for policies regarding national school lunches, guaranteed annual household income, and extended hours at daycare facilities. She genuinely connected with people, and spoke the harsh truth on topics of racism and sexism. She wanted to be remembered as someone who had guts. She faced discrimination but fought past it, and inspired young women to emerge from the sidelines to the forefront of action in their country. “I see myself as a potential reconciler on the American scene. Time will tell whether or not this will be so.” – Shirley Chisholm
• White Anti-Racist Allies
  • This collection of coloring pages features White allies who pursued anti-racism during their lifetimes.

After

Ask your child what all of the Upstanders have in common. You might explain that all of these Upstanders worked to make sure that all people could be treated fairly.

• Say: “Our world often treats people unfairly because they have different skin color. What do you think about that? What would our Upstanders think about that? What do you think we could do?”
• Ask: How can you be an Upstander too?

All children should be able to have favorite characters that look like them. But, only recently have more representative characters been added to children’s books, tv, and movies. Use this activity to talk to your children about representation among their favorite characters.

Before

Print out these character sheets and locate crayons, markers, color pencils, or paint.

During

Guide your child through the activity. Ask:

• Which crayon would be the best for coloring this character’s hair?
• Which crayon would be the best for coloring this character’s skin?
• Which crayon would be the best for coloring this character’s clothes?

After

Draw your child’s attention to all of their favorite characters’ skin colors. You may ask:

• What do you notice is similar about these characters?

Use this as an opportunity to prompt your child to notice the prevalence of white characters.

• Say: “There are # characters with light skin and # characters with brown skin.”
• Ask: “Where do you think all the other characters with brown skin are? Why are there more characters with light skin than characters with brown skin?”
• Ask: “Do you think it’s fair that there are fewer characters with skin with more melanin?”