The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Buying books that depict racial diversity
10-year-old raises thousands to buy inclusive books for kids
MIDDLEFIELD — A local 10-year-old who has launched two fundraising projects over the past three years to supply school libraries across the state with books representing people of color has already raised $4,100 toward her efforts.
Draya Gohagon, created a GoFundMe drive, Books that Represent All Kids, this month and to date has garnered $2,605 of the $1,500 goal. It is a continuation of a successful 2017 effort, Children’s Books for All Kids, which collected donations totaling $1,045.
That first fundraiser took in more than $1,000 in two days.
Draya recently finished fourth grade at John Lyman Elementary School and is moving on to Memorial Middle School.
Draya’s mother, Michelle Gohagon, director of instructional technology and professional development at Middletown Public Schools, is white, and her father, Darrell Gohagon, who works at the state Department of Children and Families, is Black.
Her parents have talked with Draya about recent events taking place across the country dealing with racism, Black Lives Matter and related protests.
“Even though we tried to shelter Draya from what was going on, there was this child understanding of it,” her mother said.
“If kids have more love in their heart, maybe they wouldn’t act that way,” she told her daughter.
A drawing Draya made for the new GoFundMe drive is of three fists she colored with black, brown and yellow markers and carries the message: “I might not be the same, but that’s not important. No freedom till we’re equal. I sure support it!”
His daughter takes after her parents, Darrell Gohagon said. He said he is usually the loudest person in the room, and his wife also freely expresses her opinions.
“When we say something, we’re coming from the heart, and that’s what she expressed to people,” he said.
Draya has always been inquisitive, her father said. “She doesn’t really stop until she gets answers,” much like her parents.
His daughter’s activism at such a young age is impressive, he said. “It makes me feel super proud. When she and her mother put their minds to something, they can do anything. I just knew it was going to be successful this time.”
The family routinely discusses issues of race. “We give her the answers without trying to freak her out too much. We give her the facts in a kid way to try to still keep her a kid,” Darrell
Gohagen said.
Draya was a guest speaker during a recent virtual meeting of the Connecticut Association of School Librarians at nErDcampCT, which included librarians from across the country. Draya was a little shy at first, then introduced a slideshow she created and illustrated.
By way of introduction, Lyman librarian Jenny Lussier called Draya “one of the most amazing 10-year-olds that I know.”
Draya explained to participants that her passion is activism. She shared that her favorite author is children’s book writer Jacqueline Woodson, and that when she grows up, she wants to be a dance teacher and activist.
“What people don’t always notice about me is I am Black and white. I am mixed, and I love it,” she said.
“In kindergarten, she realized she may be a little bit different than most of her classmates and she spoke to us,” Michelle Gohagon said.
Draya described what precipitated her fundraising project.
“All my classmates were allowed to draw their portrait with a pink or peach pencil, but my teacher — who is awesome — made the mistake of telling me I had to draw my portrait with a brown pencil. I really wanted to draw myself with a purple pencil, but I wanted to draw my color the same as everyone else,” she said.
“My daughter is super fair-skinned, teetering on the edge of white, and they gave her a pitch-black pencil. That maybe sparked the questions,” her father said.
Michelle Gohagon grew up in Enfield, which had a predominately white population at the time, she said. Her husband was raised in New Britain.
“Because she lives in a predominantly white community here, we wanted to really have her love and embrace who she is, or we’re going to go down this path of not feeling good about herself,” Michelle Gohagon said about her daughter.
There are few people of color in this small, rural community, her father said. “I figured she got the brown color (pencil) because her daddy was that brown color, but she’s definitely not that color,” he said.
“I did not want to be different. It made me sad to feel different,” Draya said. Her teacher apologized, and suggested they meet with Lussier, her “favorite librarian,” to map a path forward.
Her mother asked if there were any books that dealt with biracial children at the library. To add more, they came up with suggestions together and set out to create the GoFundMe account.
Draya also participated in the Chalk the Walk project, spearheaded by social justice organization WEE the People
in Boston, which helps kids and families learn how to talk about race and fight against racial injustice, according to her mother.
Draya is even hoping a representative will visit her school one day in person or virtually.
On the day of the Chalk the Walk event, the 10-yearold invited friends and neighbors to join her in chalking quotes on the sidewalk outside her home. One was from Maya Angelo: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”
She also talked about her activism and shared topics of importance to her.
Draya’s next project is to interview her favorite authors for a YouTube channel she plans to set up. The response, which Draya posted on her Twitter account, has “snowballed,” her mother said, as they received a flood of offers.
For information, visit gofundme.com.