Red and Green are Christmas colors. And Blue and White are Chanukah colors.
Red and Green and Blue and White was inspired by a true story that happened in 1993 in Billings, Montana. There was a PBS documentary about it, it inspired the formation of the nonprofit Not In Our Town, and it was reported in media from the local Billings, Gazette, newspaper to National Public Radio and the New York Times.
An April 14, 1996 article in the New York Times by Debbie Galant, “LESSONS: Hate and How To Counter It,” told the story this way:
“In December 1993, a stone crashed through the window of Isaac Schnitzer’s bedroom in Billings, Mont. A menorah had been in the window, and the stone sent a powerful message: Jews aren’t welcome here.
“But Isaac, 5, had friends. Among them was Teresa Hanley, a kindergarten classmate who found out about the attack the next day. When Teresa came home crying, her parents convened a family meeting and came up with a plan: they would draw a picture of a menorah and put it on their window as a sign of solidarity.
“Soon the local newspaper and church leaders became involved, and within days, 10,000 menorahs went up on windows all over Billings…”
Nine days after Isaac’s window was smashed, the menorah image along with this editorial text ran in The Billings Gazette:
“On December 2, 1993, someone twisted by hate threw a brick through the window of the home of our of our neighbors: a Jewish family who chose to celebrate the holiday season by displaying a symbol of faith – a menorah – for all to see. Today, members of religious faiths throughout Billings are joining together to ask residents to display the menorah as a symbol of something else: our determination to live together in harmony, and our dedication to the principle of religious liberty embodied in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
“We urge all citizens to share in this message by displaying this menorah on a door or a window from now until Christmas. Let all the world know that the irrational hatred of a few cannot destroy what all of us in Billings, and in America, have worked together so long to build.”
Reading that for the first time gave me goosebumps! As I explain in my author’s note, Red and Green and Blue and White:
“…was inspired by the real events of December 1993 in Billings, Montana. Teresa and Isaac are real people too, though I have fictionalized their interactions and some details of how things unfolded. What I hope shines through is how the people in Billings chose to not just stand by and be BYstanders while bad things happened to others. Instead, they stood up to say the bad things weren’t okay. They chose to be UPstanders. And when the whole community stood up together for friendship, and respecting differences, and love – the stone-throwers backed down. And in Billings, Montana, love won.”
As the final lines of the book say,
Christmas Tree and Menorah Light
Red and Green and Blue and White
Stronger together
Shining bright!
I’m so excited to have this picture book go out into the world, and empower young kids to know they can stand up for themselves, and they can stand up for the people they care about – right now, while they’re kids. And we adults can help share the true meaning of the holidays, and the true meaning of community.
I hope you enjoy Red and Green and Blue and White!
The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee
Congratulations Lee!!! Such a great story and surprisingly, inspired by an action here in Montana. I would have not expected it here except that most of the people I have met in Montana have been kind and friendly. Looking forward to getting my copy.