If drawing someone is a metaphor for, and a means to, truly seeing and honoring that person, then we must support all children to depict Black and Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC) characters as readily as they do White characters. With the Drawing Across the Color Line with Kids project, we hope to inspire more caregivers and children to create and see in more color-expansive ways.
What follows are tips we’ve developed from this work for supporting kids to draw kids of color, too. Big thanks to children’s book authors/illustrators Grace Lin, Oge Mora and Yuyi Morales for their insights! (Check out our conversation with them here: Drawing Across the Color Line with Kids.)
Drawing along side kids is the strongest encouragement you could give. And you’ll likely learn a lot, too! It’s a journey. If you or your child is uncomfortable drawing themselves or others, remember that your comfort and skills will grow.
Tag @EmbraceRace on Instagram with the portraits you and the kids in your life draw.