Book overview

Yesterday, Nexterday: An Activity Book about Culture sparks peer-to-peer dialogue and action about cultural belonging.

By using child-friendly info and play- and arts-based activities, followed by thoughtful prompts, this children’s book proactively creates space for children to understand and define culture well beyond clothing, language, and holidays.

'Framing Culture’ series. In the first one, I talked about what culture is! In here, I explore the same question through a lens of how culture is currently framed, and for each point, I suggest a reframe / prompt.

Check out the '10 C’s of What Culture Is and Isn’t' in this graphic carousel. It uses a typical MYTH vs. REALITY format, but we replaced those words because they sounded too harsh for a relatively subjective topic.

Culture is cumulative, not constant: Culture is not static; it represents the culmination of a society’s evolution.
Culture is counterintuitive, not complex: The motives of other cultures are not complex; they are just counterintuitive to us because we have been conditioned to see things otherwise
Culture is courageous, not constricting: We can adapt our traditional culture to suit our lives instead of letting it define us.
Culture is courteous, not a commodity: You can participate in culture by courteously sharing it with others; it cannot be purchased.
Culture is collective, not competitive: Certain cultures are not better than others–we all have one, and they’re all different.

In its colorful illustrations, Yesterday, Nexterday recreates the worlds children inhabit—their homes, schools, and communities. This allows them to imagine, visualize, and articulate not only their individual and familial cultural identities but also group identities expressed in these shared spaces. Examples include classrooms, libraries, parks, and so on. Yesterday, Nexterday nurtures conversations expressed by, for, and with our next-generation of children as culture-makers.

Illustrations

Look forward to illustrations that represent a daily life of the cultures of a global majority in the most enchanting way possible. 

What sets it apart from other material?

• Uses fun exercises like painting, storytelling, writing, reading comprehension, vocabulary.
• Makes children aware of their outside world and their place in it.
• Shows how to address their feelings on important topics surrounding culture.
• Since there is really not one type of family, the book represents different families, such as gender nonconforming, disabled, dual identity/mixed-race/mixed-caste/inter-religion, low-income families. Basically, the range of families your child is surrounded by.
• Helps them self-represent through media- and art-making exercises

Why Am I the Best Person for the Job?

I could  talk about why I chose this life, but really I just have to tell you why I'm the best person for this job.

1. I'm staying ahead of the curve so you don't have to: Developing a deep understanding of culture is the next gigantic piece in conversations about justice and equity for our children. If we want to keep it real, we've got to keep learning new vocabulary and adapt to your dynamic environments and listen to experts (and not influencers or business mags) on these important issues. Ive been doing this for a few years, so, I got you!
2. My Education + Experience: With 2 M.A. degrees, and a B.F.A. degree in visual communication, i.e. creative problem-solving + graphic design and nearly two decades of work experience as a creative professional in the non-profit and social justice spaces, a critically acclaimed first book, I'm literally made for this job. 
3. My Cabal: My roster of collaborators and community includes BIPOC and other educators, academics, activists, journalists, and other experts who're trying to achieve the same results in the education sector. 

If we raise the $$$s

1. You'd be investing in longitudinal work: Practitioners, scholars, and academics who've been doing this work since the 1970s are in my cabal. Yes, you heard that right.  We're all in this for only one reason.
2. You'd be investing in work with social proof: I've done this once, and it didn't go badly. (More in the video about this.) THIS IS NOT A PROTOTYPE. 
3. You'd be investing in raising civic accountability: Activists and culture change-makers have pushed discourse and made the power elite accountable for centuries. I see my collaborative and generative work as no different.

If the money isn't raised...

1. 'The End': The book doesn't get made. Period. If the goal isn't reached, I take home $0. So please help me get to the finish line. 
2. We miss out on a cogent exploration of culture: The only right way to serve this topic is by making people uncomfortable! As an Indie, I can do this. (Many can't and also won't.) Remember, I don't have to listen to anyone but my community and myself.
3. We shortchange our children, once again: We have the opportunity to make things right, right now, and this is yours.

Impact

In the video, you'll see the impact my first book,  Different Differenter: An Activity Book about Skin Color has had.  It's sold more copies than most first-time authors sell, even after being backed by publishing houses.  has been included as a specialized K-2, anti-racist resource by:

• Social Justice Books
• Rethinking Schools’ Education for Liberation Network
• McGraw-Hill's Wonders, a cultural competency curriculum for educators
• Museum bookstores: National Gallery London, Doseum and Eric Carle Museum (U.S.)
• Independent bookstores and online in over a dozen countries. 

Mainstream inclusions include:

• Drew Barrymore IGTV
• Yahoo!Life
• The Washington Post
• The New York Times Wirecutter 

$25 Goes a Long Way as do $500

We need $12,000 to make this book possible. Funds will be used for

• research for this book with educators, children, and parent focus groups
• illustration, design and publishing of the book (I am not paying myself to write the book)
• outreach with and free workshops at local libraries, youth centers, institutions
• local travel, art materials and supplies 

Other Ways You Can Help

Please help me spread the word about this very important, and timely book, as the political climate urges us to come just a little bit closer. Here’re some ways you can help:

• Like The Colo(u)rism Project on Instagram and share posts to your feed. 
• Connect me to journalists, parent bloggers, librarians, so they can invest in an early copy. 
• Canvas your networks - relevant POC (people of color) groups. Send a group email, CC me (thecolourismproject@gmail.com).
• Send the campaign link to educational institutions, art or media educators, media makers, advocates...

In short, make some noise!

 

Research and Positionality

I'm an able-bodied, cis-hetero-normative, middle-class female, with English language-access. I was born and raised in Delhi, India and have a B.F.A. in visual communication and a double M.A. The first in Media Studies and second in Individualized Studies (Race and Urban Education) both in New York institutions.

As a mom, two-time author, subject expert, and a social justice media maker, publishing this book NOW feels right! Like the first one, this book is based on primary and secondary research, discussions with educators and parents, but most importantly with children whom the book aims to serve. The goal of this book is to help children organize, frame, and articulate their thoughts and ideas independently.