JOIN THE IMAGINATION CONVERSATION: Food Fight!

Hey, everybody!

Happy new year! I’m super excited to be back in your podcast feed after our winter break. This episode is the first of a series called Imagine Equity: Six New Stories About Race, Identity, and Making Things Right. I can’t wait for you to hear our new episodes. We start with a high-seas adventure!

This week in The Imagine Neighborhood™, Vac and I are pirate-sitting the Fire Pirates while Captain Marion is off at the dentist. Everything is shipshape . . . until the Burn Voyage is attacked by the troublesome Captain Deen!

Captain Deen takes over the ship, and immediately insults everyone’s lunches. She thinks that pirates should only eat boiled asparagus dumplings, not the food they brought from home. But the pirates’ foods are important to their ethnicities, which is a part of who they are. Vac decides to make things right, and mutiny turns into a food fight! It takes a giant, delicious mess to teach Captain Deen that everyone’s ethnicity is special—and that the strongest pirate crew is a diverse one.

This show is supported by a generous grant from the Allstate Foundation. The Allstate Foundation works to empower youth to reach their full potential and build the just, equitable, and healthy world we all deserve. To learn more, visit allstatefoundation.org.

Keep the Conversation Going

Now You Know!

Q: What is ethnicity?

A: Ethnicity is part of who you are. Your ethnicity is something you share with other people who identify with the same parts of the world. It can include languages, foods, and traditions that make you special.

Q: What’s something awesome about your ethnicity? What about your friends’ and family members' ethnicities?

Q: What can you do if you see someone making someone else feel bad about who they are?

A: If you feel safe doing it, tell that person that what they did was not okay. You can also tell a grown-up. Go talk to the person who was picked on and make sure they’re okay.

Q: Is it okay to eat foods that are special to someone with a different ethnicity from yours?

A: Sharing and enjoying different kinds of food is better than okay—it’s great! And some foods you enjoy may be special to someone else’s ethnicity, so it’s important to respect that.

Create:

• Is there a kind of food that’s special to your ethnicity? What about the ethnicities of your friends? You, your friends, and your grown-ups can learn to make that food together! Your families can even have a dinner party, with a video call or an outdoor visit to cook and learn about each other’s special foods.

Write:

• Write a list of things that are special about you because of your ethnicity. You can write about what you look like, delicious food you eat, special clothes you wear for important days, languages you speak, or anything else that’s part of who you are!

Thank you so much for sending us your feedback and ideas! Keep sharing your drawings and creations with us, and follow our Infinite Refrigerator to see submissions from listeners like you.

I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe, happy, healthy, and kind.

Scotty