Greeted by gleaming eager faces in every hue of brown, it is important the early learners with whom I engage see themselves in the works I share with them. Stories that celebrate us,
our cultural sensibility, our style of expressive language. How we receive and express language is unique, beautiful. However, it should not be as foreign as it is made out to be.
As a group of people, we’ve managed, without a misstep, to assimilate others’ cultures and traditions into our own. We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year,
and more. In many cases, we know more about the legacy and traditions of other cultures than we know of our own. My story, FREEDOM’S EVE: A STORY OF WATCH NIGHT is a symbol of lost traditions. Of lost celebrations. It is our duty as writers to research our history and bring it into the classrooms, living rooms, after-school rooms . . . all over the world. Why? Who we are is who the world is.