The Walk (2023) by Winsome Bingham Illustrated by E.B. Lewis

ALERT! ALERT! Are you an educator? Are you a parent concerned about our democracy? Get this book!! Bingham takes us on a walk with her community - to the polls. This sweet story of a grandmother who takes her granddaughter on a walk to gather her fellow neighbors and head to the polls highlights the simplicity and power of voting. Winsome Bingham is a black woman who was an educator for 15 years and is a disabled Army veteran. Her credentials offer the perfect voice to democracy - and our need to preserve it. As it happens, I grabbed The Walk at the library one week after reading Bingham’s other picture book, Soul Food Sunday. When I checked out her website, I learned she has EIGHT, yes EIGHT more books coming out soon. This is an author to follow! 

Heart: I almost always take my kids to vote. I am an election judge, so I always vote early. It’s not easy taking young kids to vote. They don’t like lines. They run around. They do, however, like the “I Voted” sticker. I take my kids to vote because I want them to see how important and powerful a vote is. I want them to get in the practice and not take it for granted. My grandmother never missed a vote. She died about 20 years ago at the age of 96. She was a young child when women still were prohibited from voting. And, subsequently, she NEVER missed an election. These are the examples we need to follow. 

Head: With the Supreme Court’s recent ruling against Alabama’s gerrymandered congressional districts, we see how important it is that people continue to get out and vote - particularly people from historically marginalized communities. One thing I’ve learned from my experience as a social studies teacher and a gun violence prevention activist is that democracy is a verb, not a noun. It can be exhausting - the civic work doesn’t take a break, but it is worth it.