“You don’t have to agree with what other people think to learn from how they think. You don’t have to share their identity to be curious about what shaped it.”
~Adam Grant
At AmazeWorks, we often talk about the power of Windows and Mirrors in storytelling, a concept introduced by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop. She shares that:
This newsletter is all about the windows. When you look out into an identity different from your own, is the window wide open or small and narrow? Is there a crowd of people with stories to shape your understanding, or can you count the number of faces looking back at you on one hand?
Scroll for resources to help you examine whose stories are missing when you look through your windows. We invite you to reflect on the perspectives that may be absent from your social media feed, news consumption, social circles, and beyond.
AmazeWorks is launching a second newsletter: The Belonging Brief!
We know that belonging starts early, but it doesn’t stop there. That’s why AmazeWorks has two branches of our work:
Going forward, our education-focused newsletter will now be called Learning for Belonging and will continue arriving in your inbox on the last Thursday of the month. This newsletter will remain your go-to resource for educators and caregivers seeking to create belonging for all children.
Our newest addition, The Belonging Brief, will land in your inbox on the second Thursday of every month, starting March 13. This newsletter is designed for professionals committed to fostering belonging in the workplace, offering tools, case studies, and actionable insights to build inclusive cultures.
Know someone who brings belonging to life at work? Encourage them to subscribe to The Belonging Brief!
Books have the power to open windows into experiences beyond our own, helping us build empathy and understanding. In March, we celebrate National Reading Month and Read Across America Week, recognizing that every story we encounter shapes how we see the world—and how we see one another. These three lessons encourage meaningful conversations and help readers of all ages see the world through new lenses.
Harpreet enjoys wearing different colors to express his moods. When Harpreet’s family moves for his mother’s new job, he feels shy and wants to be invisible. He chooses to wear only white until one day when he makes a new friend.
Explored identities and themes include:
In order to increase empathy and understanding for religious diversity, a wide range of religious windows that reflect the humanity of people is essential. This story of a Sikh child navigating change can nurture healthy complex identities and respect across religious differences.
This book is about a child who has two awesome moms. Each mom has her own way of showing love, and both make the child feel happy and safe.
Explored identities and themes include:
This book provides children with the opportunity to see that while all families are different, most families have more similarities than differences. Reinforcing the thing all families have in common, especially love, can help expand a child’s understanding of the many ways families look. This positive and intentional representation helps lower bias levels and builds identity safety around diverse family structures.
A woman and her baby come to the U.S. from Mexico. Feeling alone and unable to speak English, yet hopeful and filled with dreams, they find comfort and belonging through books at the library.
Explored identities and themes include:
This book helps reduce bias and prejudice, and, for immigrant children in particular, it eases their transition into a new environment. It is also important to show the hopes, dreams, and resiliency that immigrants bring with them to make a new place their home.
ICYMI: AmazeWorks Persona Dolls are getting an upgrade. Each of our 12 Persona Dolls will have an accompanying book set, and DeShawn’s is out now!
Each book set includes four carefully selected books and lesson guides designed to deepen classroom discussions about identity, belonging, and human differences. These books build on the stories in the AmazeWorks Persona Doll Guide, offering even more ways to cultivate empathy, understanding, and representation.
This resource provides windows into:
Research shows that people tend to empathize most with those who share many identities with them, often unconsciously. This exercise provides an opportunity to reflect on our inner circles. Whose perspectives are you seeing the most closely? What voices are absent in your social network?
Instructions:
Reflection Questions:
Adapted from The European Wergeland Centre