It all started when Kaushay and I were just newlyweds, and Kaushay was telling me about Claudette Colvin, a major Civil Rights figure she'd learned about at home, but neither of us had heard of in school.
“Wouldn't it be great if more people knew about and looked up to people like her?" We both wondered.
That simple idea grew into this series! It turns out there are many real people who are or were real heroes, from all places and walks of life. We decided to share them with the world, with three goals in mind:
- Show heroes from marginalized, minority or under-represented groups, so that children from these groups can see heroes that look like them, and so that (perhaps more importantly,) other kids can see heroes who don't look like them.
- Give children heroes who are or were real people, instead of the fictional superheroes. We want children to know what real life heroism looks like, and know that they can be a hero too.
- Inspire meaningful conversation between parents and children about hard topics.
- We break down difficult subjects from racism to the Holocaust to be understood by as young an age as possible, giving parents a springboard to open these conversations, as well as example language they can use. Kids are naturally curious, so they'll likely ask why Claudette Colvin wasn't allowed to sit where she wanted on the bus.
- We've even made resources for parents to make these conversations as easy and natural as possible! See them here.
- We believe that if children from as early an age as possible learn to openly discuss hard topics with their parents, that openness and trust will last their entire lives.
- We believe that these discussions happening early and often will eventually make society better, as kids learn to grapple with, discuss, and apply what they learn about difficult things with their parents' help.
- We break down difficult subjects from racism to the Holocaust to be understood by as young an age as possible, giving parents a springboard to open these conversations, as well as example language they can use. Kids are naturally curious, so they'll likely ask why Claudette Colvin wasn't allowed to sit where she wanted on the bus.
We hope you enjoy learning about these heroes as much as we did! Feel free to use the contact page for any comments, questions, or to suggest a hero you'd like to see next!
-Spencer and Kaushay