Once Upon a Kwanzaa: Seven Principles for Everyday Living

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca
Schulze welcomes back author-illustrator Nyasha Williams,
alongside her co-author Sidney Rose McCall, to discuss their
collaborative picture book, Once Upon a Kwanzaa. Though the two
have never met in person, they describe themselves as "deeply
ancestral soul sisters" who connected through the adult adoption
community online. Together, they explore how the seven principles
of Kwanzaa—from Umoja (unity) to Imani (faith)—offer a pathway
back to communal ways of being that our world desperately needs.





Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review.





Highlights:



The Seven Principles Explained: Sidney walks
through each Kwanzaa principle and how they apply to everyday
life, not just one week a year


Ten Families, One Vision: How Nyasha and
Sidney intentionally represented diverse Black families,
including adoptive families, queer families, and
multigenerational households


Everyday Kwanzaa: Why these principles of
community, creativity, and collective responsibility are needed
now more than ever


Collaboration as Dance: The process of two
writers creating magic through voice memos, memes, and
ancestral downloads


Visibility vs. True Representation: Nyasha's
powerful distinction between simply being seen and being truly
represented in literature






Notable Quotes:


"Literature and media has such an immense power in shaping our
future, in shaping what can be, in imagining what's even
possible." —Nyasha Williams


"Community is not just about finding your safe people, but also
finding people who you might not have initially considered your
safe people." —Sidney Rose McCall


"Empathy isn't a passive word. It requires active participation.
It is a relationship that you are building." —Sidney Rose McCall





Books Mentioned:


Once Upon a Kwanzaa by Nyasha Williams and
Sidney Rose McCall, illustrated by Sawyer Cloud: Amazon or
Bookshop.org





About Nyasha Williams:


Nyasha Williams grew up living between the United States and
South Africa. As a kindergarten teacher, she was inspired to
become an author and activist after a Black student told her
mermaids could not be Black. She is the author of four picture
books with Running Press Kids, including the bestselling I Affirm
Me, and is the author of RP Studio's Black Tarot.


For more: nyashawilliams.online





About Sidney Rose McCall:


Sidney Rose McCall is a historian and community intellectual who
combines academic work with activism. She serves on the Academic
Committee for the ZORA! Festival of the Arts and Humanities and
shares decolonized history lessons through her Patreon platform.


For more: linktr.ee/Rosecolored_Scholar





Credits:


Host: Bianca Schulze
Guests: Nyasha Williams and Sidney Rose McCall


Producer: Bianca Schulze





Episode Sponsor:


Mimi and Ary by Rashad Mirzayev: Amazon or Bookshop.org