I wrote Hands Up! to celebrate Black kids and their joy. I also wrote it to acknowledge that Black children often carry a necessary resilience that is infused into their lives young and continues as they grow, having more interactions in and around the world. 

I’ve had a lot of conversations with elders of my community over the years about what it meant for me to be a Black woman growing up in the south and eventually traveling the world like I have. Those conversations happened in many places, churches, libraries, kitchens, schools, just like in the book and they’re always cushioned in encouragement for me to keep going, head held high even when life comes at me with its obstacles. It was made clear to me growing up that many of those challenges would come because I’m Black and I was instructed on how to behave and respond in these situations. These “talks” imbued a sense in me that to survive and hope for a chance to thrive, I needed to be able to bounce back and keep going. That can be tiring. The balance came for me in the joyous, everyday celebrations with friends, family and mentors. I hope that Hands Up! is an opportunity to showcase those slice-of-life triumphs alongside the activism that’s always been a part of my life.

One of my favorite things about the book has always been the movement in the illustrations and page turns and it’s incredible to see how people take the story and make it their own. The scenes in the book are taken from my own experiences with my family and friends, so I’ll always have an idea in my head of what the hill that Viv, the protagonist, bikes down looks like to me. I’ll always have an idea in my head of the basketball court where my cousin played and the librarian who helped me pull down the books from the top shelf. But, when I read the book to children in classrooms or libraries I get to see and hear what the book means to other people. Like the young man who talked about getting his hair pressed out to get it braided up and being tenderheaded like Viv. Or the brown ballerinas in Boston at the Center Dance Company who created a movement story for the book and who giggled before showing me the correct form for the fifth position. I’d been doing for a while but I usually wear super long flowing skirts so no one could tell.  Sharing those moments, sharing space and learning together with the kids reading Hands Up! is a gift of this book that I will never get over! 

For me, Hands Up! is all about wonder of collaboration and striving. You see can see that through our protagonist Viv, all the times she’s connected with older members of her community including with the collective responsibility emphasized at the community garden and the protest at the end. I hope that if people use this book as an introduction to social issues here in the US and abroad, they make sure to include the need for joy, and collective action. 

Love and light, Breanna J. McDaniel

Interested in learning more about Breanna, her work, and ‘Hands Up’? Watch Tandem’s interview with her or visit her website. Buy a copy of ‘Hands Up’ for your home or school library today through our Amazon Affiliate link. When you purchase through this link, a portion of your purchase will go to support Tandem and our work!