On Saturday, June 23, at Pigeon & Prince in New Orleans, Random House Children's Books hosted a breakfast in celebration of the forthcoming anthology We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices (Sept. 2018) conceived and edited by Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson.

Four of the 50 contributors joined the editors to discuss the project. Kwame Alexander, Rafael Lopez, Ellen Oh, and Jason Reynolds spoke about what the book—and its theme—meant to them. Wade Hudson noted that the idea for the anthology came shortly after seeing the reaction of young family members to the 2016 election results, and listening to their concerns and fears about having their voices heard. Cheryl Hudson added that in addition to reaching out to writers, they  sought the work of artists, precisely because the visual arts speak to so many and add layers of meaning to this and other conversations.

Jason Reynolds applauded the use of the word "Resist" in the title, stating that "if kids are doing what we want them to do, they aren't doing what they should be doing." Rafael Lopez, who contributed an illustration for poems by Margarita Engle, talked about that art and the murals he has created with children in San Diego’s East Village, which he hopes spread messages of dignity and tolerance. Ellen Oh reminded the group that "it is no longer enough to stand by my side; you must walk by my side."

The day before the event Alexander visited The Whitney Plantation Museum with his daughter. He spoke with them about honoring the generations that had worked at the Whitney Plantation under horrific conditions with silence, but that on leaving the place they should all “raise our voices.” "People who can rise in the middle of that are pretty special, pretty magical," he told them.  

Celebrating the launch of We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices
from l. to r.: Wade Hudson, Rafael Lopez, Cheryl Hudson, Ellen Oh, Kwame Alexander, and Jason Reynolds