Season 3 Episode #18 My Conversation with Author & Illustrator Vanessa Brantley Newton

On today’s episode I speak with Author & Illustrator Vanessa Brantley Newton. Vanessa Brantley Newton was born during the Civil Rights movement, and attended school in Newark, NJ. Being part of a diverse, tight-knit community during such turbulent times, Vanessa learned the importance of acceptance and empowerment in shaping a young person’s life. Our conversation will be inspiring and uplifting. 

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Transcript

0:36

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Cultural Curriculum Chat podcast with your host, Jebeh Edmunds. I cannot wait to share with you all an amazing author and illustrator whose energetic prose and pictures will motivate you and inspire you every day. We have with us in the guest chair, Mrs. Vanessa Brantley Newton. Welcome, Vanessa. Yeah. But it's such a joy and pleasure to be here with all of you. Thank you so much for inviting me. It's a, it's indeed a pleasure. Oh, thank you. So, before we get diving into it, I'm gonna share your background real quick with our audience. Vanessa was born during the Civil Rights Movement and attended school in Newark, New Jersey, being part of a diverse, tight-knit community. During such turbulent times, Vanessa learned the importance of acceptance and empowerment in shaping a young person's life. When she read Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, it was the first time she saw herself in a children's book. It was a defining moment in her life and has made her into the artist she is today as an illustrator, she includes children of all ethnic backgrounds in her stories and artwork. She wants all children to see their unique experiences reflected in the books they read, so they can feel the same sense of empowerment and recognition she experienced as a young reader. So I loved reading your biography of Ezra Jack Keats' Snowy Day. That's one of my favorite books. And can you kind of share with our audience that spark, that catalyst for change that made you the author and illustrator that you are? Oh my gosh. You know, uh, it, it is such a awesome question and, and every time I give an answer for this book, um, because I'm asked that question so many times. It was the 1960s when this book came out, 19, actually, 1963, the year I was born. And, uh, going to predominantly white schools where I was the only black child in the classroom. And not seeing yourself, uh, as a child. I would walk up to my mom and I would often ask her, am I invisible? You know, something, something wrong. People can't see me. And it was. We weren't, granted children's books where we could actually see ourselves. Everything was, if you remember, uh, and you're my age, I'm, I'm 60, um, this year, uh, Dick and Jane, yes. Humpty Dumpty magazine, Jack and Jill Magazine, and all of these different magazines that came out focused on white children and their stories. you know, and so we as brown children, black children, never really got to see our hair textures, our skin, what our parents looked like, because I was raised with two parents and uh, two parents who were Christian, you know? Mm-hmm. And so family was everything, whether you were. Christian, Muslim or whatever. Family back then was very important, and my mom and dad would not spend their money on books that did not reflect us. Mrs. Russell, one of my favorite teachers, had one of the biggest afros I think I ever saw in my whole entire life. It was orange. She wore orange dresses that were so short that you did not want her to bend over and she wore Go-go boots. And she was one of the coolest teachers. I loved, loved love Mrs. Russell, and she wasn't the nicest teacher in the world, but she knew children who learned differently, and I learned differently. I am dyslexic. I have something called synesthesia, which is the ability to see, smell, feel, taste in hear color. And I also am a stutterer and so she knew that, and I remember the day Jebeh, she picked me up and put me on her lap and opened up the Snowy Day. I am 60 years old and I still get emotional about it. It was the first time that I ever saw a black child beautifully painted that looked like me. I even had a snowsuit, and so I thought, Peter was a child that got lost in the book. That was my brother and I just need to open that book and I can go and visit him anytime I wanted to. We could play in the snow together. It was, it was everything. That book, as a matter of fact, I tell my husband often when I leave here and go to be with the Lord, put my Bible and a copy of the Snowy Day in My Palm because I wanna read it to the Lord, what I get to what I get to heaven. It's that special to me, that book is that special to me. I love that book. Yes. Oh, it's such a beautiful written book. I read it. I had the big book in my first grade class and just the innocence of child playing in the snow and seeing his tracks and Yeah. You know, and what I s. See how you have transformed your work. It does give you that childlike glow about it, and it's bright, it's vibrant, and just how you even, you know, described your teacher in the orange thick afro and the go-go boots. Yes, girl. The fashion you have in your characters. Yes, honey. Yes. Yes. Tell'em Jebeh. Vanessa. It's, it's so, so vibrant. You've got African textiles in it. Yes. In some of these you've got jeans down to the stitching. Yes. And I mean, your attention to detail is just perfection. And what I love about your books, Vanessa, is it does, it makes you sit a little taller. Yeah. Because even in 2023, there is this. Um, urgency to have more. I have colleagues and neighbors and, and people ask me, Jebeh, where are the books that don't look like my kids? And I'm like, Ooh, do I have books for you? Because we want to have all of our kids to know that Vanessa's and Jebehs we exist. Yes. And exist in daily things, you know, I, as an educator, I always would have, you know, my students see me out in the community and it's like, yeah, I exist, I do human things. Like, yes. And for it to be in a book. To open that conversation I feel like you have done it my dear. Um, with, um, you're Becoming Vanessa book. Everybody has their first day of school. Everybody has those jitters. Everybody wants to have their special outfit. And with your feather boa and your parents saying, oh yes, what are you gonna do that's special today? Yeah. And I really, when I read your book, it really took me back to my first day of school experiences. I had a different name, you know, and how to write it down. And I just love how you juxtapose having two S's and how you're still writing your name. Everybody else is done Every year, we all have students like that. They're still working on their name. Other kids are at the door waiting to go to recess, you know? So many kids can relate to Vanessa's story and, and what I love about how you wrote this, and I don't wanna give away too much audience cause I want you to get this book. Your mother sits you down and shows you and shares with you how important your name is and why she named you that. And I feel as a. As parents, we need to sit our kids down and say, do you wonder why I gave you that name? You know? And I feel that gives that child that confidence. And Ooh, I know my name in the meaning and why I'm named that and Exactly. Can you talk more about Yeah. Becoming Vanessa, I just love that biographical feel to it, I, I, I have to tell you, and even to end, what we were first were talking about is I wanted to give children what Ezra Jack Keats gave to me yes. That, that, that was a whole thing. If I could leave them feeling the same way Ezra made me feel the day I got that book. I remember Jebeh going to the, uh, library and taking out that book. Close to probably 25 times. And the librarian threatened me and she said, if you take this book out one more time, she said, there are other books that he's written. Would you like to see them? I read them and the next week went right back to Snowy Day Yep. But you know, in becoming Vanessa, names, nicknames are so important, and this is not. to down Americans or America as far as names are concerned. This is not, not about that. It is when you don't know, you continue to do the same things over and over and over again. When you do know, the value starts to come and then the worth starts to come. And then the the pride of you know what you have and that's why. Naming your child is something so very, very special. It's, you look at that child and it's, there's something special, special about you. And even that is because your mommy and daddy's baby, there's something special about you. I remember going here in Low Country, South Carolina, and um, I was in Art, um, gallery for African American Art. Gullah Geechee. My family is Gullah Geechee from Low Country. Ooh, Gullah. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, there was a woman that was in there and she was beautiful, Jebeh, gorgeous woman, head rap and all. And I said, oh, I said, what's your name? And she says my name. I'm trying to remember, um, how she said it. Ooh Efeytaiwo. And I was so moved when she told me what her name. Cause it struck me like a bell when she said it. She said, my name Efetaiwo Tao. I said, oh my gosh. I said, what does that mean? She said, it's bringer of joy. And I told you, you dunno how much joy you brought me by sharing your name with me. I must have said that name over and over, Efetaiwo. And I was like, if I ever have another baby, I'm naming my baby Efetaiwo naming your children names that don't have any meaning to it or something derogatory. That's what you're calling your child all the time. I lost. Several children buried a daughter who would've been 23 years old. I have a 22 year old now named Zoe. And when I had Zoe, I knew exactly that I'm wanted to name her Zoe. And the first thing people said to me, Jebeh was, oh, you named her Zoe, after Zoe on Sesame Street. I said, no, it's a biblical name, Zoe. And it means the God kind of life. There is no death in it. And that I got to hold her. And now that she's 22 years old, she has become her name. And so when I see her, I tell her constantly, baby girl, you are becoming your name. The God kind of life, there is no death in it. And so when. I got my name as a child. I was in love with butterflies. One of the, one of the things that I used to do, I would go to school and when the teacher would, uh, gimme paint, I would put all the paint in the middle of the page and then I'd smack it together and then pull the page over. Instant butterflies. Yeah. And I loved butterflies. And my mother said that girl know she loves some butterflies. My mother was pregnant with my little brother who, uh, was stillborn as well. And um, I remember her going through the book and I told her, I said, I hate my name she said, you hate your name. Why do you hate your name? I said, it has two s' in it. Two a's it, it's hard. People always ask me, why'd your mama name you Vanessa? And I was embarrassed at the name. And I remember one of my teachers, one of my teachers, white teacher told me, she said, that name's too big for you. And when she said that, you know, when you said that to a five or six year old mm-hmm. we're kinda like, internalize that mm-hmm. Yeah. So I always thought something was wrong with me. And, um, she goes, Vanessa, what a, what a rich name to give a child like you. And the thing hurt me so bad, but I didn't even know I was hurt Jebeh until I got home. And I told my mother I didn't like my name and my mom and dad sat me down that day. And I'll never forget it. They said, your name is Vanessa. Do you know what Vanessa means? I had not a clue. She said, what's your favorite thing to draw Vanessa? I said, butterflies. She said, that's what Vanessa means. It means butterfly. The pride and the joy that I felt in my soul. I still get teary-eyed when I tell the story cause my self-esteem was so in the toilet. And I failed completely through school. Fs and Ds until I got out of high school and didn't want people to call my name because I thought something was wrong. Mm-hmm. when they called my name, of course, she's a dyslexic girl. Oh, she's a girl with all this, the synesthesia and that, that crazy stuff. And she stutters. So every reason to pick on me. So there was like I I, I don't know why my parents gave me this name but in grasping it and now learning it. I just wanna empower babies. To know their names and to know that there is worth to every single one of them. It is so planted in my heart. It is what I pray about in the morning is God giving me a heart of Christ where children are concerned because I love children. I don't wanna see them abused. Don't call them out of their names even when they have done something that has really angered you. Take your time and breathe. And say what you need to say to them firmly, of course. And everything else. And I, and I'm a believer in spanking behind. Yes. I, I'm old school. Okay, I'll spank your behind in a second. I'm just saying my desire to see children thrive and grow is from a very real, real place. Because I'm five years old, I'm still five and you have done it beautifully. Anytime, some I your gift and I apologize that you felt that way as that child. I remember when I was going into education, my mother, she was a teacher, just retired a couple years ago and she always said, bless. It's, it's, um, yeah, big blessing. My favorite teacher was my mom, and it's like, She always said, you know, one, they need to see your face, that you exist, that you belong in that role. And two, I always thought of the words of Maya Angelou. They'll never remember the lesson you taught about how you made them feel. They remember how you made them feel. Yes, And as an educator, and now you as an artist, showing your work, you're sending hope to those kids that felt small. You're sending hope to those kids that felt othered, you know? Yes. Look at you. You know, I'm, I'm at the bookstore. I'm like, yes, I want all the titles. Yep. And I was telling every cashier, I'm interviewing her on my podcast, they're like, really? I said, yes. You know, I want to share your work. Because even, um, back in the day when you illustrated that One Love Book Bob Marley. Yeah. I have that in my first grade class, you know. Oh. And it's, oh my gosh. Wow. Wow. I tell you my fan girl moment. I'm like, oh my gosh. But even I'm just so honored and your work is just bright and, vibrant, and it's so happy. And sharing. Yeah. And even your solemn pictures that you have on your website, they make you think, they make you get rooted down, you know, to understand, you know, the breadth and depth of your work. But even to switch gears on, um, your just like me, your book of poems. I just. Love how self-affirming it is. And I feel like you were writing this to your younger Vanessa. Yes, I was. Cause woo, I mean, I'm just gonna quote one quick sentence from, oh, I mean, there's so many. I love Meemaw MA's wisdom. It reminded me of my grandma. Oh, Meemaw's MA's wisdom is my favorite. That one. And, um, wisdom. Yes. Oh my gosh. And yes, I'm a canvas. Um, and just, I, I even, I have two, you know, biracial boys at 14 and 11, and even reading it out to them, you know, it's just like, yeah, there's gonna be days where you're not feeling it, you're feeling a, you know, a bluesy kind of way just to show you that yeah, it will get better, you know, and you have, to be painted of your words. It's just beautiful warrior. I mean, when I'm. In those moments, I'm just like, Ooh, I'm willing for a good fight to seek up and stand up for myself. Yes. You know, fight in a good fight with love, and that's right. Oh, it's just in, I tell you, I, I'm like freaking out in a good way. Because how you have this, it's not just for girls only. I mean, you have it written in the girls' voice, but all students can, you know, take it. Every student can take away from it. Yes, every student can take away from it. Feelings. There's so many. Poems that teachers can write about, analyze, absolutely. And come up with, you know, ideas of their own, you know, feelings after they've read it. Yeah. The comfort of having your grandmother. Face to face conversations Absolutely. Over texting. I'm like, yes. You know, those are the things that we need that human connection. And it just brings me back to those moments with my grandma sitting on her lap and having her Sandy's cookies. I cannot go past the grocery store having Sandy's cookies, you know? And, um, I just love it. And your paper, um, your paper chains It's just beautiful. Yeah. Everybody needs to have that. Just like we're holding each other, pulling each other up, and I quote, and it's a powerful link that we are together. It just culminates who we are as human beings, you know? Absolutely. Absolutely. I can't get enough of your books, so please keep sharing more. Is there anything else that you would want educators to know? With your books or anything that is in that multicultural literacy space that you would want them to know? Like strategy that they can do tomorrow if they Absolutely. Mm-hmm. you know, it's important that we talk to each other. I'm not talking about Tex. Um, I'm talking about really, you know, now that Covid is somewhat controlled to a a degree. Conversation is necessary. It's necessary for, uh, parents to really, you know, I know you got in from work and you're tired and you don't wanna go to that school meeting or that PTA meeting, but this is where we get to talk to each other. And you get to hear the teacher, and the teacher gets to hear you. And hopefully we're listening where we're not just talking at each other, but we're really coming with an open heart to listen. Because at the end of the day, it's about the child. It's, it's about the child. We teach racism, we teach it. Mm-hmm. we teach especially, you know, when I hear parents say, well, I don't know where that came from. I'm walking through the supermarket. And this little boy says the N word to me, Hey mommy, is that a Mm-hmm. And she kind of looks at him like, shut your mouth. You know, you don't, you don't say things like that in public, mommy. Mm-hmm. you know, and, and she was in, I don't know where he got that from. And I'm like, I know where exactly where he got it from. He didn't get it from his teacher. He got it from you. I worked in the hospital for twenty five years. Jebeh as a professional phlebotomist, that's a person who takes blood. Mm-hmm. and my specialty were children, women with cancer, uh, people with aids, everything nobody wants to be bothered with. Okay? When you are holding a premature baby in your hand, and I have tiny hands and a baby can fit in my hands. Wow. And I mean, when I tell you I took care of children, of every ethnicity that has walked this planet, I have, I have taken care of, okay? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. The one thing that I've learned, this is what I wanna lead with, your, your listeners, is babies want three things. Children want three things. Mm-hmm. is there a clean diaper when I messed this one up? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Vital. Is there a bottle or a breast in here with some milk in it? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And are your arms and your heart strong enough tohold them. Ooh. That's all they want. This other stuff? Come on. You think about slavery, white babies were put on the black breast, but were treated like animals, basically. The women were treated like animals but I'm doing what you should do for your own child. Yeah. Ok. And so my message is we need to break this thing of racism and send it back to the pit hell from which it came.. and begin to see people, as people get to know my character, get to know who I am before you just start jumping off with, oh, they're black. Oh, they're white. Oh, they're, uh, Asian, Latino, or, or, or Hispanic. And so they're nothing. No. Get to know me first. Get to know me first. So yes, the, the, the message that I wanna lead to them, first of all is to all your educators. I appreciate every last one of you. You work so hard to put lessons together, and there are times you can't even teach your lesson because you got a parent. Students. And it takes away from you even trying to teach. But I want you all to know, we appreciate there are a bunch of us that know the hard work that you all put in the late nights. The, the, the whole thing. Just wanted to see children succeed. I love you all. I thank you all. I pray for you all that God would continue to cover you, strengthen you, give you more money because you deserve it. I heard that Ok. And pay vacation at that. Anywhere in the world you wanna go, you shouldn't have to put out a dime. I know our educator friends are like, thank you. We feel seen. Because yeah, you can have the best, oh, beautifully written lesson plan, but something always happens. Okay. how do I pivot? How do I keep it going? How do I still get my work and that my students need to achieve before they move on to the next grade? And I tell you, I tip my hat. it's a profession that is, honored by the educators who do it every day. We just hoping that honor will be reciprocated by more people. Absolutely. You that have reciprocated it. We feel it. We love it and we appreciate y'all cuz y'all keep us going in those trenches, especially Absolutely. So I love my teachers. I love it. Yeah. Oh my goodness. This has been an amazing talk. Where can, um, my listeners get your books?. Absolutely. You can get my books at most indie bookstores. You can find it at, uh, Amazon and on Barnes and Noble's websites as well. Um, uh, you can always go to penguin books and find my books there, but, um, I would love it if you would follow me over at instagram@vanessabrantleynewton.com. You can find me on Facebook at Vanessa Newton, uh, and Vanessa Brantley Newton. I have actually two pages and um, that's about it for social media, but I also have a website of vanessa brantley newton.com. Awesome. And I will put all of that information in our show notes too as well. Oh, Vanessa, it's such a blessing to get to know you and laugh with you and just cry with you and tear up with you, with your most beautiful, heartwarming, inspiring stories. And you're one of those students that you know really did defeat and beat the odds. Of having someone say who you are, but you define it in your way. That's and Right. Cause even when I went to Barnes Noble in Duluth, Minnesota, your books are on those shelves. You got it going on. That is, I cannot thank you enough. My, oh, honey, thank you. Thank you. I'm just, thank you, honored to just share this chat with you today. So that's all we have today folks, and um, yes, I'll see you next week. Bye-bye.