Tucson resident and author Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford originally wrote “What Color is Your Hand?/ De qué color es tu mano?” 24 years ago, after a poignant moment with her 4-year-old grandson, Jordan.
She and her husband, Daniel, had taken Jordan to Legoland in California on vacation. When Rivera-Ashford was helping her grandson in the restroom and as he was holding onto her hand, he suddenly said, “Nani, my hand is not the color of your hand, and your hand is not the color of my hand.” Her grandson’s mother was a refugee from Angola, Africa, so his skin is darker than hers.
“He was in a state of distress, so I came up with this little story to acknowledge the difference and to add some beauty, some deliciousness,” she said as she compared their skin colors to coffee and cream and chocolate and milk…